Times Is Tough

What does a restaurant have to do to get a “very good” review from the New York Times?

Sunday’s Metropolitan section raved about Rainbow Thai — the new place in Bridge Square, with the spectacular river view.

Pad See Ew tastes a lot better than it sounds. (Photo courtesy of CTBites.com)

Patricia Brooks loved the surprise of “finding some dishes on the menu that are not commonly found at other Thai restaurants in Fairfield County,” like mee grob and larb.

She called the sizzling pancake “a special delight … the star of our lunch.”

She noted several other fine dishes, including tao hoo tord, kong tod and “a refreshing somtum salad of green papaya spears woven through greens and fresh tomatoes in a tangy tamarind sauce with peanuts on top.”

Brooks even described the servers — rushing food from the basement kitchen — as graceful, patient and always smiling.

So what rating did she give the place (quickly becoming a Saugatuck favorite)?

“Good.”

I’m glad she was never my classroom teacher.