East Meets Southwest

From left to right in the strip mall, start out at P.S. Noodle Pot, awkwardly subtitled The International House of Asian. Monogrammed for owner Inpeng “Peng” Soumpholphakdy, P.S. Noodle Pot recently replaced the Rice Bowl restaurant, which she operated for eight years along with Rice Bowls on Thompson Lane and in La Vergne. Seven months ago, Soumpholphakdy shifted the focus from rice to noodles, recast the menu with a selection of dishes from Japan, Thailand and her native Laos, and revamped the interior into a sleek, dark shotgun sparsely decorated with rich tapestries.

At this tiny, uncluttered store, which centers on an open kitchen with bar seating, Soumpholphakdy offers a menu of unusual ingredients, rich flavors and untempered spices. Treat yourself to a cool glass of Thai tea, heavily sweetened iced tea mixed with cream. Don’t miss the generous appetizer of som tum (papaya-tomato salad), which looks like a bed of glass noodles dotted with hunks of raw tuna. Mixed with lime juice, garlic, shrimp paste, fish sauce and an abundance of red pepper, the fresh sliced tomatoes and crisp green papaya strings give off enough moisture to make a sweet red dressing that both cools and stings with each refreshing bite.

We almost missed the special, which was written on a chalkboard just inside the front door, next to a low altar that held a traditional offering of bananas and tea. The intriguing banana-leaf chicken appetizer plated six bites of tender meat, wrapped elegantly in thick leaves, with a bowl of sweet Thai chili dipping sauce.

The staple pad Thai, a stir-fried mixture of noodles, egg and crisp vegetables—available with chicken, shrimp and beef—emerged from the kitchen with a perfectly enticing sheen across the steaming noodles and a generous pile of crushed peanuts on the side. Undertones of fresh citrus juice and salty fish balanced throughout the abundant tangle of noodles, and we almost stabbed our friendly server with a chopstick when she tried to clear the plate before it was completely bare. We also devoured the chicken with peanut sauce over extra-large rice noodles, perfectly coated with flavor without being overwhelmed by gluey sauce.

Our least favorite item was the kao piak, a bowl of homemade noodles in a thick, almost clear broth, which we rejected largely for textural reasons, though some people at the table also found it too salty. Infinitely more delicious was the tom yum hot pot. The large rustic clay vessel of steaming broth, noodles, mushrooms, scallions, whole red chilies and lemon leaf was redolent with salty and citrus flavors that could relieve a head cold faster than most over-the-counter products.

P.S. Noodle Pot serves from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Rosales is a rose is a rose

If you’re not looking to cure the sniffles so much as to relieve Tex-Mex ennui, head a few doors down to Los Rosales, where new owner Carlos Moncayo, who also owns Ibiza nightclub down the road, took over the fledgling restaurant in November. A native of Guadalajara, Mexico, Moncayo remodeled the interior to create a “rustic, elegant” look (think white table cloths and terra-cotta tile floors) and rewrote the menu with a cast of creative and healthy spins on Mexican cuisine.

Overall, the repertoire stands out among Mexican menus for its light hand (i.e., steamed vegetables and olive oil), and the presentation of the food is consistently attractive and colorful. Upon being seated, we received a basket of warm house-made tortilla chips and an attractive platter with the trinity of pico de gallo, refried beans and salsa. While the pureed salsa lacked flavor and texture, the homemade offering set a tone for freshness and attention to detail that wove throughout the meal.

While many Mexican restaurants have introduced ceviches, Los Rosales’ Sin Nombre (Spanish for “without name”) was exceptionally generous and attractive, piled with raw shrimp, tilapia, octopus and, of course, the ubiquitous crabless crabmeat, steeped in lime juice and habanero. Plated with luscious slices of fresh avocado and vegetarian rice, the entrée, priced at $11.45, also could be shared as an appetizer.

Rosales’ greatest appeal is in the unexpected items that dot the menu. For starters, we were delighted by the flavorful broth chock full of tender cubes of chayote squash and carrots, which rivaled the offerings at the neighboring Noodle Pot as a soothing and flavorful elixir.