dining out

FAST-CASUAL THAI FOOD?

At the new Binto Thai restaurant in Bonita Springs, Thai food gets the fastcasual treatment. And our critic says: Why not? | BY JEAN LE BOEUF

Ifelt a brief disconnect walking BINTO THAI with tom kha soup bright with galaninto Binto Thai. gal, with orders of garlic-ginger rice The Bonita Springs restaurant looked like a juice bar or a 28811 S. Tamiami Trail, No. 4, Bonita Springs • Opened: late February and of savory, comforting pad see ew crafted with broad noodles and soyhomier version of Chipotle. A • Price: Average dinner entree is less than sauce laden gravy. chalkboard of daily specials hung on $15 Binto offers a classic Thai iced tea the left wall, listing curries and soups • Call: 239-676-8683 clouded with sweet plumes of conand something called “heavenly beef.” It overlooked a handful of simple tables • Web: bintothai.com • Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-8 p.m. Monday-Friday; noon-3 p.m., 5-8 p.m. densed milk. Lunch meals start with the soup of the day and little vegetableand a counter lined with bottles of fish Saturday; closed Sunday stuffed egg rolls. And every Binto meal sauce and samples of soft drinks. Behind • Etc.: Beer and wine served; online ought to start with the aforementioned that counter, a masked cook appeared ordering for takeout; delivery via Grubhub “heavenly beef,” strips of flank steak and disappeared behind sizzling clouds sauteed till their outsides are chewyof steam. I couldn’t see what he or she as a Thai-style “street food cafe,” a crisp, their insides marvelously tender. was doing, but I could smell it: garlic, subtle distinction that shows in dishes Binto serves this ½-pound nest of meat ginger, the tingle of chili peppers. of tom sum salad made with crunchy with a side of its rice-vinegar slaw. It’s

My mouth watered. I began to con- matchsticks of papaya; in rich kow a killer combination that takes you far nect the dots. Fast-casual Thai food? My in- soi, a curried noodle soup from north- away from this world, if only for a few terest had been piqued, as had my appetite. ern Thailand; and in a dessert of silky bites.

A server in a mask and face shield mango and sticky rice laced with coco- Our dishes came out quickly, as did a emerged from the kitchen, holding menus nut cream. later takeout order. While the restauin her gloved hands, smiling brightly with If you’ve grown accustomed to the rant has a fast-casual setup, our server her eyes. same handful of Thai dishes (I’m guilty took care of us just as a sit-down server

“Are you two here for dine-in or take- of ordering far too many rounds of pad would, refilling drinks, clearing plates, out?” she asked my friend and me. thai and panang curry as my takeout bringing boxes for leftovers.

I looked around at the empty dining standards), then Binto is a delicious way Fast-casual restaurants have been the room, then glanced at the tables outside to expand your Thailand horizons. fastest growing sector of the restausimmering in the soggy afternoon heat. Or don’t. rant industry in recent years. In the I shrugged at my friend. She shrugged My pad thai was wonderful, its age of COVID-19, they appear to have back. Our way of saying, “Eh. Why the tender noodles fragrant with scallions cemented their place in our collecheck not?” We chose to dine in, for the and tangy lime. My panang curry (lis- tive palates, promising convenience first time in a very long time. ten, some habits are hard to break) was and food that’s a step up from paper-

“Welcome to Binto Thai,” the server great, too, the slight heat of its chilies wrapped burgers and fries. We’re used said. softened by lush coconut milk. to fast-casual sandwich joints, fast-casual

Binto opened in late February, back From there, I expanded, with that burrito spots, even fast-casual sushi. when the world seemed slightly less tom sum salad bursting with juicy Why not fast-casual Thai food? Espeterrifying. The restaurant bills itself tomatoes and the soft crunch of peanuts, cially if it’s as good as Binto Thai.

Jean Le Boeuf is the pseudonym used by a local food lover who dines at restaurants anonymously and without warning, with meals paid for by The News-Press and Naples Daily News. Follow the critic at facebook.com/jeanleboeufswfl or @JeanLeBoeuf on Twitter and Instagram.