Ginger...snap!

     Last night Mr EA and I and some friends went downtown to try out Ginger, a sophisticated pan-Asian restaurant.  Ginger is trying hard and mostly succeeding.  The decor is elegant and clean without being super-severe. 
     I started out with a cup of banana and lemongrass soup, which tasted much more normal than I thought it would.  It was more of a tangy curry soup with an undercurrent of sourness here and there.  There was no "banana" flavor in the form of the sweet fruit.  There was a slight starchiness and a texture that suggested more of a plaintain version on banana.  There was also some crab bits in, which contributed some flavor and texture but did not overwhelm.  No one else at our table had an appetizer, which made things a bit awkward for me. 
     Mr EA got the Garlic Barbecue Ribs and I got the Panang Beef Curry.  Our friends got the Baked Sea Scallops and the Duck Breast Chinois, which they said were pretty good.  My beef curry was pretty good, with buckets of delicious sauce, strips of tasty but tough beef, savory crimini mushroom chunks, and crisp fresh bean sprouts.  There was also some perfect jasmine rice, which proved not only tasty, but useful in mopping up the sauce.  Mr EA was less thrilled with his ribs, which were very fatty and tentatively flavored.  They weren't bad, but they weren't wonderful either.  For dessert, I had Chinese Five-Spice Chocolate cake, and Mr EA had Ginger Pear Cheesecake, both of which were delicious!
     On the whole, while it is a great atmosphere and the food is certainly good, it is not as delicious as the prices would suggest it should be.  We found that neither of us thought about it today, which would not be the case if it was excellent. However, and I can't emphasize this enough, it was tasty enough and also a very pleasant atmosphere. If you want a nice place to go with some pretty good food, you could definitely do worse than Ginger.