Oh, my friends, Saturday night I had a good meal, a fun meal, a wonderful communal dining experience that began with spicy tomato sauce and ended with tart gelato.  It was at Delicatezza, an Italian restaurant on Soi Thong Lor 10 (Between Thong Lo and Ekkamai), a restaurant past which I had driven a hundred times and yet – foolishly – at which I had never dined.

It was a bit spontaneous, a gathering of some random friends, some of whom had yet to be introduced.  Truthfully, though, it was just an excuse for me to carbo-load before Sunday’s ride.  Ken and Brian each shared a nice bottle of red with us, and not long after the appetizers, we were already giddily listening to Brian’s explanation of his different airline mileage credit cards and their relative merits.

Appetizers – click on a photo to see a larger, more succulent version.

From left to right: parma ham and sweet melon; mixed seafood with spicy tomato broth; mussels with spicy tomato broth.

The Cioppino-like seafood appetizers were amazing: the broth was rich and tomatoey, with lots of spice and pepper.  The seafood was really fresh and the servings generous.  The melon, which was so crisp that I thought it wasn’t ripe, showed why it is called a honey-dew.  I haven’t had so sweet a melon in a long time, a perfect foil for the salty ham.

We enjoyed liesurely service and the modern, well-lit atmosphere.  The crowd was mostly Thai families with lots of large groups.  When our main courses arrived – and they actually arrived at about the same time in very un-Thai fashion – we were treated to even more wonderful delights!

Mixed seafood with angel hair pasta

Clams with squid ink pasta – Matt’s black lips were very Goth

Bacon, musrooms and olives with spaghetti and garlic

Penne with salmon and a vodka-tomato sauce

Pork chop with demi-glace and vegetables

These were fantastic mains.  Very reasonable prices, generous portions, high-quality ingredients and very good technique.

Before Suchai arrived, we told the waiter that it was his 40th birthday, which was true a week or so ago.  But it is fun to sing Happy Birthday and we knew it would annoy him so we did it anyway.

Below, Matt, Kobfa and Tawn – the ex-San Franciscans – pose before dessert.

Dessert was simple: homemade gelato.  The orange is a flavor that is just like taking one from the market, throwing it in the freezer for an hour, then biting into it.  The lemon was super tart and so refreshing after the relatively heavy meal.  The strawberry and rasperry were very good, too.  The chocolate was heavenly rich.

I think that Delicatezza has just become my new favorite Italian restaurant in Krungthep.