Baan Sawan

Charley and I went on a date to Baan Sawan, my new favorite restaurant in Columbia with not competition whatsoever. I am so in love with the food and it's not just because I'm crazy about Thai food. These guys are authentic, original and creative. 

I met the executive chef at a food show last week and he gave me a menu. I put the menu on our refrigerator and pointed at it as frequently as possible and said to Charley " date night" (complete with a small hungry baby bird impression in which I point to my mouth and squawk for extra annoyance). I think he got the point. 

The chef remembered Charley and I from the food show, so he gave us a complimentary appetizer of grilled mushrooms, shrimp and a green onion in a hot chili sauce. We also tried the spring roll appetizer. 

Charley ordered this tasty and refreshing beer with a light citrus taste.

This was my entrée : Pad Thai with organic sprouts and roasted chicken. It was so incredibly amazing that I ate more than I should of, and then ate the leftovers approximately 30 minutes after we got home because I couldn't stop thinking about them. 

This was Charley's entree: Crispy Duck Confit with peanut curry on a bed of spinach. The duck was phenomenally tender and the sauce perfect. They allow you to pick your spiciness one to five and Charley ordered a two to balance out some of the sweetness of the peanut sauce. 

 And finally we got desert. We were stuffed truthfully but ordering dessert is sorta Charley's thing since he's a pastry chef. It was fried bananas with ice cream and a chai reduction sauce. We dug into it before we took the picture so it looks a little mangled...but it was light and refreshing. A perfect finish to a completely awesome meal.

I'm no food snob by any means, but I have been able to sample food from a good many restaurants in Columbia thanks to picture taking events and I will say EAT HERE!! If there is any place in Columbia you should try- it's this place. It's better than a lot of the Thai that we've had in the big places in Charleston even. It's a pretty penny for the tight budgeted folk but well worth every bit of it. The entrées run from about 15-22 dollars. It's also a cozy date night atmosphere. the restaurant is in a little white house off of Devine (it's a little hard to see from the road). It's bright and sunny with skylights and seats only about fifty people so think quiet and relaxed. Here is their blog.  http://baansawan.blogspot.com/

and to end, here is my hubby's picture with a gigantic fish from work. Crazy! Pardon our fuzzy pictures from the night courtesy of Charley's phone.