The Egg Albany Ny

Asian adventure

When our entrees came out of the kitchen, bringing with them a cloud of funky, grown-up, fearless aromas, my first thought was, "That is so un-American."

As we tasted them, I had a second thought: "Why on Earth is this place not packed to the rafters on a Saturday night?"

This was a meal that made me want to do the Snoopy dance, inspired me to ask to meet the chef, and had me trying to describe the exquisite pain of fermented bamboo and the sultry reek of fish sauce to a stranger in a bar an hour later.

I was at the Sukhothai, which opened in April 2008 in the former El Mariachi spot on Central Avenue. The cooking that night was done by Saowaluck Saeueng, the female half of the couple that owns the restaurant and its older, smaller sister Sukhothai, located a few blocks away on Lark Street. We later learned that her mother was in the kitchen hand-pounding curry spices. Her husband, Maung Yannaung , popped in and out, and a small child in pajamas skittered quietly through the dining room a couple of times.

The menu has the expected run of inexpensive pad Thais and rice dishes, but it has much I haven't seen in a long time, if ever. It was fun to read. Everything I sampled, I would happily eat again, and I would gladly try everything else on the menu if I live long enough.

The spartan venue isn't visually impressive, but its priorities are right. The first thing I noticed was a small but interesting collection of wines, prominently displayed on the bar. The well-chosen and well-priced list was also prominent at the center of the menu.

We started with netted prawns ($6.95), a simple, tasty construction of shrimp trapped in clouds of crispy egg noodles, hilariously impossible to eat elegantly. It broke the ice with our dinner guest, who had never had Thai food and quickly learned that forks, spoons and fingers were all acceptable means of scoring every tangy, spicy morsel.

The classic som tum salad ($6.95) was valiantly spicy, full of non-Western textures like chewy dried shrimp and slippery-crunchy green papaya.

My husband has a retirement fantasy of employing a personal chef to serve him his favorite dim sum all day on a breezy, covered porch. He added Saeueng's yum pla muek ($8.95) to that daydream during dinner. The spicy squid were cold-cooked in lime to a perfect texture before being lightly heated and tossed with a vibrant combination of red onion, lemon grass, cilantro, scallion, fresh chiles and lettuces.

Live Review: Sully Erna [The Egg, Albany, New York] May 22, 2011

In the faraway land of New York State (US) is a giant egg-shaped landmark where the craziest mix of live performances takes place year-round. Nearly all 982 seats at The Egg are filled for Sully Erna, the former lead singer of Godsmack, who has just released his first solo album, 'Avalon'.

Before taking the stage, the audience is treated to a five-minute multimedia exploration of sound and how we interact with it, which honestly feels a little bit like a hyped-up science lesson...featuring some rock stars. The set includes numerous blue lights and faux LED candles, which sets the tone for the show and keeps it grounded. Once Erna gets on to the stage, it becomes clear that this is not your typical hard and heavy rock show. He and his band waste no time getting into the opening song and title track off of 'Avalon'. This and many of the other songs are reminiscent of previous Godsmack hits like 'Voodoo' and Serenity', as they are driven by more drums than one song should normally be allowed to handle.

Erna changes gears and slows things down for the fourth song and our standout for the evening, 'My Light', with a visual montage of home videos featuring his infant daughter. Perhaps the most moving piece of the night is 'Eyes Of A Child', which features film clips as commentary on the struggles of children in third-world countries. Uniting each song is a strong tribal sound that plays to the depths of the soul - the Indian and Native American imagery only adds to the show's focus on musical and multicultural exploration.

Opposite Erna on vocals is the powerful and enchanting Lisa Guyer, who takes the lead for a few songs - the sounds that burst from her lungs makes us forget momentarily whose name is on the marquee. Guyer's voice soars through numerous Indian-inspired melodies layered over throbbing drums and enhanced by her zills (finger cymbals). Each song finds a new place in the musical journey led by Erna and his band. What really blows our collective mind however, is the incredible piano solos by Erna, which are enough to render the rambunctious audience completely silent for moments at a time in awe of his spiritual style of playing.

Each band member shines whether or not they are physically in the spotlight. Bulgarian cellist Irina Chirkova conveys heart-wrenching solos and creates a beautiful sense of melancholy that, when fused with the drumming, pumps soulful life into the performance. Percussionists Niall Gregory of Ireland's Dead Can Dance and David Stefanelli prove to be the heartbeat of the show, with their strong energy and creativity.

The Egg (Albany, N.Y.) [clippings]

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