Six days a week, Sweet Basil Thai Café is a casual Thai restaurant on Pine Street, dishing up spring rolls, pad thai and other Southeast Asian delicacies. But on weekends, this downtown spot is transformed into a soul-food restaurant.
Star Ellis, a Sweet Basil employee, is using the eatery’s kitchen on its shuttered days to cook up fried chicken wings, baked chicken leg quarters, Parmesan-crusted chicken breasts, meatloaf, fried catfish nuggets and more. In August, she’s serving the homestyle meals as part of a dinner theatre package (the play, written by a local, is a family drama called Still Brothers) on Saturdays and Sundays. In September and October, it will be dinner only, served from 1:30 to 5 p.m. each Sunday (closed on Labor Day weekend).
The reasonably-priced entrees come with such soulful sides as macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and Caesar salad. Ellis also plans to offer slices of cake and pie for dessert. Her personal fave? “The catfish nuggets are seasoned so well, they just have a burst of flavor,” she said, “and people love them.”
This article appears in Aug 1-31, 2010.