Eating at Joe's
By Adrian Byzant
Picture to yourself the humble diner, circa 1950: down at the elbows a bit; perhaps wanting a coat of whitewash; with a hand-lettered sign outside on the roof advertising menu items ('Shrimp Plate' $1.75); a skinny, middle-aged cook smoking Lucky Strikes lounging at a booth mid-afternoon; and four or five people at the counter drinking coffee. Like as not the name in your imagination reads 'Joe's'.
The American psyche senses something uniquely appropriate in naming a small bar or diner 'Joe's'. Did not the cartoonists of Mad Magazine - the comic book that so greatly influenced modern American culture and politics - heighten the irony of their depictions by splashing the words 'Eat at Joe's' in unlikely places? Fast forward half a century and the irony is much heightened when we discover a 'Joe's' in Phuket - of all places! - and it is no shabby dive but the ne plus ultra in dining chic.
As it happens, the island now has two Joe's: Joe's Downstairs in Patong; and Joe's South at Kata. Both are part of the Ban Rim Pa Group, operated by American Tom McNamara, whose middle name is 'Joseph'. But that's mere
coincidence: legend has it that he always wanted to open a restaurant called 'Joe's'; something about the name, perhaps, excited his sense of irony. But what else should we expect from the man who, according to anecdote, after opening twenty years ago Ban Rim Pa - now arguably the island's most famous Thai restaurant - 'charged for the chair, not for the food'?
McNamara knows what the world expects, so Joe's, naturally, serves hamburgers - by all accounts among the most satisfying in Phuket - but resemblance between his Joe's and any diner of the same name elsewhere
ends at that. Restaurants in the Ban Rim Pa Group - the namesake, Da Maurizio's Italian, and now Joe's - advertise 'the ultimate dining experience', which is no barren claim but true history for the privileged many who have passed through Ban Rim Pa's portals. The irony of Joe's, then, is that the blue-collar name masks two of Phuket's most upper-crust restaurants.
Joe's South is located on the road to Kata Noi, and fronts the posh Kata Gardens condo project. A creation of Bangkok's Orbit Design, the restaurant comprises six glass-screen pavilions including two bars and a delicatessen, separated by ebony-coloured plank walks, lush green planters and watercourses. Five-metre high waterfalls pour over the roofs and down the windows of two pavilions. The ultra-elegant architecture is all squares and rectangles: nary a round surface is found anywhere aside from the drinking vessels. Colours are mostly shades of Taos adobe, white, grey and black. Ambiance at Joe's South inside and out is cool and refined; that of Joe's Downstairs beachy, with the dominant colour white.
Dinner at Joe's recently began in the stand-alone bar, where smokers are still welcome. The opening bar snack consisted of whole roasted cashews with traces of kaffir lime leaves and red chili - an excellent idea. I sampled the 2005 Monsoon Valley Colombard, a white wine not likely found much overseas because one of the few of any quality made in Thailand.
We had tapas at the bar - Joe's is a tapas kind of place with no fewer than 16 on the menu: the waiter brought us large white cotton napkins bearing the logo 'Joe's' stitched in black with our three dishes. Service is first-boat throughout.
The first dish was Peking Duck Rolls with tamarind and Dijon mustard dipping sauce. These were conically wrapped, stuffed with roasted duck skin and spring onion sprouts. They resembled somewhat the baskets Tokay grapes are deposited in after picking, and, dipped in the Dijon-based sauce, tasted great.
Our second dish was White Snapper and Leek Tempura Rolls. The snapper was fresh, the rolls deep fried, served with Wasabe mustard and a citrus-flavoured soy sauce: this is a lively dish, flashy and unique, a sample of American executive chef Aaron Hooper's creative genius.
The third appetizer was Ahi Tuna Tartar, which resembles ceviche but is all red tuna, raw and tasty, flavoured by ginger chili soy sauce - excellent, as are the accompanying crispy round wonton crackers.
We next migrated across the attractively arranged miniature plaza, flanked by cube-like glass dining rooms, to the main restaurant, where the decor is dominated by a 'chandelier' of twelve long cream-coloured square canvas lamps. Ten square tables rest on a modern parquet floor, both of dark wood. Table tops are six inches thick; chairs are roomy, comfortable and stoutly made. Furnishings, flatware, dishes (square!) and ceramics are all made in Thailand, though they exhibit nothing of the now perhaps too prevalent traditional Thai style.
We tried three of Joe's ample main dishes. The Medallions of Pork Tenderloin (715 baht) are fat rings of tender pork stuffed with an assortment of tangy fruits, piled atop a mound of lime-infused, mashed sweet potato, and finished off with a vinaigrette of sherry and bacon. This is a dish of no small appeal, rest assured.
The Pan-Seared White Snapper Filet (785 baht) was my personal favourite: two-inch thick filets are the top layer of rectangular (how else?) comestible edifices set like low office towers on the plate, flavoured with almonds, finished with a side of excellent extra-large sugar snap peas.
Also superb was the Rare Grilled Ahi Tuna Loin (785 baht). This is a tenderloin of tuna, near three inches thick and blood rare, served on a bed of mashed potatoes with black pepper and a side of avocado salad.
Both my companions preferred this dish.
We finished with two desserts and a cup of the excellent Italian Illy coffee. The Forest Berry Compote with Mango Sorbet is all home-made, tangy and fun, too, with its accompanying butter-filled ice cream cone wafer. The Chocolate Tart with Coconut Ice Cream is impressive: thick round tarts of Swiss chocolate are wet with drizzled coconut cream, enhanced by a pure chocolate stick - you can't help but love it.
Addenda: Tapas prices range from 215-425 baht, with most about 250 baht; other popular dishes include the Chicken Breast and Avocado and Blue Crab and Glass Noodle salads, and the Baja Fresh Chicken Tacos (425-475 baht). The fine wine list has 43 wines, with five "selected" whites and four reds available by the glass (225-390 baht); the exquisite liquor list features some of the finest available, with 21 special vodkas, and such top-drawer items as Casa Noble Anejo tequila, Johnny Walker Blue Label, and Hennessy Paradis. For functions, the capacity is "about 100."
Joe's South is open "from noon till late" daily, on Kata Noi Rd. at Kata Gardens, in Kata Beach. Tel.: 076-285-385.
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