I have a like/hate relationship with Thai Basil. My gourmand of a self thinks that on many levels, it's the penultimate example of the gentrification of world cuisine - as if Arizonans couldn't handle the dishes as they'd been prepared in Thailand, every dish was constructed with a pre-picked starch, meat and sauce, same vegetables in every single friggin' dish. Thai Basil Beef? Cabbage, broccoli, carrots, zuchini, red peppers and bamboo shoots. Fried Rice? Rice, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, zuchini, red peppers and bamboo shoots. Spicy Noodles with Shrimp? Rice noodles, shrimp, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, zuchini, red peppers and bamboo shoots. It's kind of insulting in a way - it's like \"Give us some credit and make the food the way you'd make it for yourself! Not the Thai version of Panda Express\"\n\nAnd yet, I go to Thai Basil. All the time. When I'm jonesing for stir fry or a mess of rice, it's cheap and plentiful. And it tastes really good. Aside from the curries, which are shockingly bland, the rice and noodle dishes are all insanely edible. It makes me feel guilty for being a hater and demanding that my Thai food taste like Thai food. In the words of Jamiroquai, \"if I like it, I do it...\"\n\nI guess this will continue to be my drunken hookup of a restaurant. I don't want to make my love public, but I'm all up in it like the rest of the crowd.\n\nOk, I'll put my haterade down now ;)
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