Mannie’s Fire Feast Food Review: Thai Taste

For this edition of Mannie’s Fire Feast review, I visited Carbondale’s Thai Taste. The restaurant’s location is 100 S. Illinois Avenue 

The food review is based on the following criteria: customer service, food flavor, food texture, cleanliness, value/price, food presentation and convenience. 

Each criterion will be given a score ranging from zero to five. Instead of using the same old boring numerical identifiers, this food review uses fire symbols to measure the restaurant’s performance. For example, no flames would equal no fire, and five flames would be extremely fire. 

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At the very end, all scores will be averaged, and the restaurant will receive an overall score. So without further ado, let’s start the review!

Food Flavor 4.5 🔥🔥🔥🔥1/2

To start, I ordered a tofu wonton soup with a coke. The soup contained thin wonton skins stuffed with tofu, cabbage, carrot and spices in a clear broth. I selected a four out of 10 spice level for the soup because I do not do well with too much spice. 

The soup was delicious and came at the perfect temperature for immediate consumption. The four spice level was considerably hot, so I would probably scale it down next time. The veggies complimented the soup well.

For the main course, I ordered the Three Delight, which contains chicken, shrimp and roasted pork with vegetables and ginger in a special sauce. Instead of having the roasted pork, I substituted it with beef. 

I ordered a four-spice level for the Three Delight meal, which wasn’t too bad. The chicken and beef were tender and well-seasoned. The shrimp were of a great size and tasted fresh. I added some sweet-and-sour sauce to the dish, but it didn’t need it because it was already tasty. I’m giving the food flavor a four and a half because the leftovers tasted the same the next day. 

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Food Texture 5 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

The soup’s texture felt light and not too filling before the main course. Again, the soup’s temperature was perfect for you to dig right in without having to cool it off, but the cabbage was a bit too long and stringy and at times the cabbage fell off the spoon. 

The Three Delight’s food texture was juicy and tender. The meal was well cooked and did not leave me feeling bloated. The food texture receives five flames. 

Food Presentation 4 🔥🔥🔥🔥

The restaurant has put some thought into the plateware that they use. The restaurant’s ambience is more minimalist and sleek, which is complemented by the modern dishware that they serve. 

The soup came in a large round bowl halfway filled to prevent spills. The Three Delight came out on a medium-sized plate with a small rice bowl on the side. It could’ve been on a bigger plate and I had to request a separate plate to dish the rice and main course together. The food presentation will be four fire flames. 

Customer Service 5 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I arrived on a busy night with seven full tables and only one server named Kenny. He introduced himself to me and seemed very pleasant. He also educated me on the spice levels for the food I could request for every meal I ordered. 

Kenny was very busy, but he gave every table the same amount of care and attention to detail. He even apologized for the food wait because there was a big party that night celebrating a life event. Once the food arrived and I began to eat, he checked on me several times and asked how everything turned out. 

Although the restaurant was busy, I thought the staff did a fantastic job under pressure handling the dine-in and takeout orders. Customer service receives five flames. 

Value/Price 5 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Both meals before taxes and other service fees were less than $20. For the restaurant to be located in a college town, it gives you a fine-dining type of feel at a budgeted price. The portion size was large enough for leftovers, making it an even better deal for anyone looking to ball on a budget. I am giving the value/price criterion a total of five flames. 

Cleanliness 4.5 🔥🔥🔥🔥1/2

Up next is the restaurant’s cleanliness. I did a full scan of the restaurant and was amazed by the venue’s ambient scenery, smooth jazz and fresh smell. There were also hand sanitizer dispensers as soon as you walked inside. This is a bonus for anyone who is germaphobic like me. 

The tables were clean and had a lit candle planted at the center. The only slight downside was the silverware. The napkin was very clean, but the utensils were slightly smudged. But dishwashers can sometimes cause this to happen. I am giving the cleanliness criterion four and a half. 

Convenience 2.5 🔥🔥1/2

I arrived at the Thai Taste restaurant on a Wednesday evening around 7 p.m. and dined alone. The restaurant does not have a private parking lot. Patrons are forced to pay for street parking or walk if they can.  

The restaurant is located on the corner of a busy street, so few parking spots are available. There is also a public parking lot across the street from the restaurant but it services other businesses too. Generally, parking in Carbondale can be complicated if the destination does not have a private lot. However, on this day, I luckily found a parking spot nearby. The convenience score that best fits the restaurant is two and a half flames.  

Overall Score 4 🔥🔥🔥🔥 

The overall score Thai Taste will receive is four flames. In the future, if the restaurant can improve its parking, there is no doubt it can be close to a near-perfect score. 

Staff reporter Mannie Henderson can be reached at [email protected]

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