Why eat at a chain Wednesday: Zuzap

I’ve been to Zuzap now twice and I can thank a business client for the initial exposure to the restaurant that is themed “Thiland’s Street Vendor Food.” When I think of street vendor food, I initialy think of a little lesser quality cuisine. Yet, that is not the case at Zuzap, and honestly I am not sure why they even associate themselves with street vendor since they have a brick and mortar establishment and their food is very high quality.

I would never have heard of Zuzap had my client not suggested we eat there last fall. They are nestled in behind Granite City and Anglo Jewelry and I can’t say that I’ve ever heard or saw any of their advertisements. Yet, as is the case with many restaurants, the good word of mouth made the decision to dine there very easy.

Have you ever had a Thai Tea?

I tried one for the first time at Zuzap and I thought it was very good. According to Wikipedia: Thai Tea is a drink made from strongly-brewed black tea. Other ingredients may include added orange blossom water, star anise, crushed tamarind seed or red and yellow food coloring, and sometimes other spices as well. This tea is sweetened with sugar and condensed milk and served chilled. It looked like a milk shake, although obviously not as thick, and it had just a little spice to it. If you have a chance to try one, I highly recommend it.

For lunch I decided to get the Ambrosia Chicken, or Kao Na Gai in Thai, which included stir-fry with chicken, mushroom, baby corn, and green onion over steamed rice. As I always do when I am at a Thai restaurant, I ordered the meal with the very least amount of spice. Call me a wimp if you wish, but at most places the minimum amount of spice is just about right for me, which was the case at Zuzap. The Ambrosia is really a great meal, it was filling enough, yet it lacked real strong taste component, which might have been because I chose the weakest spice level. I don’t know if it would have been better had I decided upon a stronger spice or not, but I guess I’ll have to try that next time.

Zuzap’s menu ranges from the traditional Thai items like Pad Thai and Green Curry to items that are more Asian themed like Sesame Chicken and General Tao’s Chicken. They are open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, yet only open for Dinner on Saturday’s.

After all, why would you want to eat at a national chain when you can eat at Zuzap?