Siam Chicken and I

It was a quick trip to Lemongrass Grill on Broadway, before we headed to Symphony Space to hear South Indian classical music. The headliners were the violinist brothers Ganesh and Kumaresh, with accompaniment by tabla virtuoso (and quite possibly the world's greatest drummer, period) Zakir Hussain. It was a beautiful performance, full of deep, sighing violin melodies and playful percussion that was at once romantic and whimsical. The sheer sense of fun at an Indian music concert is something that might surprise lots of Western listeners. It's a real romp, with the players trying to one-up each other like kids talking smack on the playground.

On the left is a green curry with tofu. Simple and tasty, with subtle spicing. On the right is Siam chicken, which snared me on the menu by employing one of my favorite phrases: "served over a bed of braised onions." Indeed it was tangy and savory, with a sauce made of black beans.

Truth be told, Margy and I are usually a bit more adventurous, or at least we try to taste more dishes, at a Thai joint, but we needed to hustle to make the show. Anyway, you go to Lemongrass Grill for a quick and dependable meal, not a banquet fit for the king of Siam. Plus I was in iffy shape after a few days of less than healthy eating (see B.B.'s wings and gnocchi with no veg below, plus I haven't even told you about Thursday's 2am Gray's Papaya run...), so I wanted to play it safe.

Margy, of course, never needs to play it safe. A stomach of iron she has! Lucky Margy...