“Bangkok City”

By Jack De Santis

Restaurant Description

Bangkok City: A Thai restaurant recently opened in the town of Pelham.Owned and Managed by Head Chef, Artie Leeraternpong.Open 6 days a week Tuesday-Sunday.Includes a wide variety of appetizers, soups, Salads, Noodle dishes, Rice dishes, Curry dishes, and also American Dishes with a “Thai twist.”

The Bar Area

- Bangkok City not only has an area for dining but also has a bar area

- Featuring top selection of international and domestic wines and beers.

- Wide variety of Rum, Tequila, Vodka, Gin, Whiskey and much more

- Currently has two skilled bartenders employed who can whip up almost any cocktail, martini, or margarita.

- Half price beers on Sundays as well as half price bottles of wine on Tuesdays.

- The Bar also includes counter space for up to ten people to sit comfortably

The Dining Room

-The Dining room includes eight, two person tables, two four person tables as well as a five person round table.-This adds up to a total possibility of 29 people in the dining area.-With four servers, one host, as well as a runner, the dining area is full of knowledgeable staff.-With an edgy, futuristic décor the dining area attracts the eye of many.

Bangkok City Decor-Bangkok Cities décor blends traditional Thai beliefs with more futuristic design techniques-The main scheme behind the design of the restaurant is steered to make the costumer feel warm and welcome.-The restaurants design was lead by experienced designer, Cristian Vargas. -The whole restaurant is lit up with a lot of exterior light breaking through the twelve foot windows at the front. -Once the sun has set, Bangkok Cities lighting sets the mood for a more personable dinner. Around 8 every night the lights are dimmed and candles are brought out to offer a more personalized dinner experience for the costumers.

Appetizers -The Appetizer menu offers a dense selection of Thai food most commonly found on the streets of Bangkok City.-Seen to the left is an example of one of the appetizer selections, “Thai Samosas,” which is a common Indian dish with a Thai Twist to it.-Popular Appetizer plates include the “Crispy Golden Wonton Bags,” “Vegetable Crispy Rolls,” “Beef and Chicken Sate,” and also the chef special “Spare Ribs.”-No item in the appetizer selection is over ten dollars and are quite filling.

Entrée Selections-The entrée menu offers a variety of Rice, Noodle, and Curry dishes.-To the left is an example of one of the “Beyond Bangkok” items, Short Ribs Beef.-“Beyond Bangkok” is a section on the menu hosting some American Dishes combined with Thai cooking techniques.-Popular entrée selections include the Red Snapper, Short Ribs Beef, Green and Red Curries, along with the Pineapple Fried Rice.-All items on the entrée menu are under 20 dollars, offering high quality meals that don’t give your wallet a pounding.

Bangkok City Daily Specials.

“Ahi Tuna” “Blue point Oysters”

Specials Description-Specials are created by head chef Artie as well as sous-chef Leila Zambrano.-To the left is the chef special Deviled Eggs with pickled beats-Two of Bangkok Cities more popular specials include the Deviled Eggs as well as the Red Snapper. Both items were so popular they permanently became part of the menu-New specials are thought of almost every week.-Other specials include the Ahi Tuna, Tilapia Civiche, Fried Calamari, and Soft Shell Crab.

Bangkok City Menu

By the Numbers

-The village of Pelham has over five different pizza places, over six delis, as well as four Italian Restaurants that do not feature pizza.-Nearly 70 percent of the people I surveyed stated that anytime they went to eat in Pelham, they dined at either a pizza place or a deli.-Nearly 85 percent of the people surveyed agreed when asked if Pelham should host a different type of sit-down dining restaurant.-An astonishing 95 percent of people surveyed said they would love to make Bangkok City their new go-to restaurant in Pelham.-When asked why they were and are attracted to Bangkok City 60 percent chose the answer stating, “I am attracted to this restaurant due to the fact that it offers something different.”-98 percent of people surveyed stated they would come back to Bangkok City a second time.

Examples of typical Pelham Eateries

Pelham Pizza Four Corners Pizza

Repetition vs. DifferentiationThroughout Pelham’s past there has been a common trend of repetition as well as lack of change. Not only in their dining options but also in their homes, schools and overall environment. When driving through the streets and residential areas of Pelham one may notice that the majority of most homes have a traditional, old school center hall colonial look. Most homes in Pelham were built in the early 1900s and have not been modified much. This idea merges into their dining options. Most of the local restaurants have been family owned and passed on from generation to generation. The idea of having anything else (Change i.e. Bangkok City) has been completely out of the question up until recently. The fact that the town has fallen in love with its local restaurants does not put any restaurants in danger with the opening of newer, differently themed restaurants. Pelham will always love a regular slice for $2.50 but this doesn't mean they wouldn't also enjoy a Vegetable Crispy Roll as well.

“Fit the Niche”When interviewing a first time costumer, she responded to one of my questions by stating that Bangkok City “fit the niche.” I found this extremely interesting, which in turn lead to my investigation of what makes this place so successful. According to many Pelham has been lacking a distinct restaurant with “flavor.” Some would believe Bangkok City has fit this missing area in Pelham's dining options. Both the staff as well as the town are very proud of Bangkok Cities success and hopes for many years of success to follow.

My first “Bangkok Experience”

Red Snapper Cheese Cake

My first “Bangkok Experience”

Being around Bangkok City so much made me hungry! I had to find out what all the buzz was about. I decided to try it out a couple weeks back with a couple buddies of mine. We were seated at the round table near the window and was taken care of by long time waitress, Marie Floro. Marie seemed very knowledgeable of the menu and had many recommendations and favorites she insisted we had to try. We started out by getting the bread and butter of Thai food, Edamame, along with the Crispy Golden Wonton Bags, Vegetable Rolls, Thai Samosas as well as the Spare Ribs. We absolutely devoured our appetizers and were ready to move on to some entrees. I decided to go with the special at the time which was the Red Snapper. The Red Snapper was served lightly seared with the “chef special sweet chili sauce” and was prepared in a bed of Spinach. I overheard people at the tables around me, who also chose the Red Snapper, talking about the Red Snapper and felt the same way I did. A young man told the woman he was with that nobody could go wrong with the Red Snapper and that the Chefs special sauce went very well with the combination of the snapper and the spinach bed. After my entrée was finished we then chose to order a couple slices of New York cheesecake. The chef prepared a special order for us packed with an array of fruits on top coupled with a strawberry port wine sauce and bourbon whipped cream. Overall I would give the restaurant an 8.5 out of ten. The food was great and the so were the prices, however the menu was a little limited at the time and a couple of our dishes took a decent amount of time to reach our table. But other than that I thoroughly enjoyed all of our food and was impressed with the staff. I would recommend this Restaurant to anyone looking for a good time and fantastic food.

”Motorcycle - As the Rush Comes”

Here is a little back story to the song heard behind the slideshow, titled “As the Rush Comes.” Ever since January 2nd when the restaurant opened this song has been on the playlist for the restaurants sound system. I could not put into words my love/hate for this song. This song has been played in Bangkok City over 1,000 times, (checked how many times it was played on iTunes) which has an average of being played over 10 times a day. With that being said one could understand why I despise this song the way that I do, and one could also understand why this is an appropriate song to be inserted into this power point.

Bangkok City time of operations

Monday: closedTuesday: 12pm – 3pm ; 5pm – 10pmWednesday: 12 – 3 ; 5 – 10Thursday: 12 – 3 ; 5 – 10Friday: 12 – 3 ; 5 – 11Saturday: 2pm – 11pmSunday: 2pm – 9pm

Bangkok City Future Plans

After speaking to the head chef/owner of Bangkok City, Artie Leeraternpong, about his future plans he told me about several plans he has looking towards the future. Looking forward to this summer, Bangkok City will open several tables outside the restaurant. This will not only increase the size possibility of the restaurant but also add to the overall experience and create a more open look. On the topic of expansion, Artie is attempted to open a second Bangkok City in the near future. Depending on the success of the restaurant after the first year and half Artie will attempt to open a second restaurant around the same area. When asked if he plans to try and open a chain Artie seemed extremely opposed to the idea and responded by saying, “This type of restaurant could never be a chain and I will keep this as a Family owned restaurant until the end.”