Betel – NYC
PRO: Cool space, nice people & service, OK spot for a drink + appy or a date
CON: Many dishes not well conceived, and not really authentically Thai- seeming
Hmmm. I smell a place that has an identity crisis. I mean, Betel is calling itself a Thai food restaurant, but our take is it leans more toward Vietnamese in its menu and spices. So I’m gonna cut to the chase. 1) For the second time in our brief visit to NYC, we hit a new, hot spot! The first Pulino’s and now Betel! You are welcome. OK, so we made resies (again!) to make sure we could get in and out and still have plenty of time to get into trouble the rest of the night.
So we got there at about 8p, were greeted very warmly and yes, they had our table ready. But…we spied two seats at the bar and dove right in! Yee haw! The folks behind the bar were nice, one dude and one chick. The space is nice, a fairly small, open room with a bar, communal table and long banquette along the windowed street front. 
And the windows all open up for some good fresh air dining. There’s also a little lounge area around back.
They did a nice design job on what I hear was a shit hole before that. Nice lighting, dark wood, blah blah. Sorry no pix, it was getting too dark for my crappy iPhone camera. Hear that Steve Jobs!? Wait, I just ‘borrowed’ one from the world wide web. Here ya go:
We ordered a couple bevvies and got right into the menu. And, like I said, got confused. They say Thai, we say Vietnamese*. Oh well, we weren’t in the mood to argue.
For starters, we had the Salt & Pepper Spiced Cuttlefish ($10). WTF? Yes, maybe I was on drugs but I broke my Golden Rule of not ordering fish with a name that grosses me out. Cuttlefish? Reminds me of an 80 year old sexually abusive uncle with scratchy whiskers and halitosis. Not that I had one. Cuttle fish. Cuddle fish. I dunno, it’s close to Grouper, Carp or Mackerel but worse. Creepy. It’s a creepy sea dwelling 
being. I mean, take a look at this homely sucker. Anyhoo, it arrived. The other J looked pretty suspect about it.
It looked a little like Calamari, but different. So I went for it. Y’know, it was a little chewy. And not like my favorite gum, nicorrette. I mean, Dentyne. Anyhoo, it’s chewy seafood. Not for me. And definitely not for the other J, I thought she might projectile vomit it across the room. Hey, it wasn’t their fault (or the Cuttlefish’s), it’s just what it is. But I’ll tell ya, they cooked it well, spiced the hell out of it, and for that they get a nod. Meaning, if you like Cuttlefish (weirdo), you’ll like Betel’s.
Next, the Pork & Scallop Dumplings ($13), with Garlic Chili Dipping Oil. I’m turning into a dumpling bitch. Oh man, yes along with being wings and pizza bitches, we’re getting close to being dumpling bitches as well. Watch out all you! So these were good dumplings, seasoned well with cilantro, but I really didn’t taste the scallop. The meat was OK, the dumpling dough was fine, but just ‘fine’. And only 4, for $13, so a bit steep. Good, but not mind-bending.
Then, the Stir Fried Tuna ($24) with Chili Jam, Snake Bean (yeah, I’ve called it that too), Cashews and Basil. We were like…’Stir Fried Tuna?’ so had to check it out. And I’ll tell ya, for stir fired tuna, it was good. i just wouldn’t stir fry tuna. It’s like poaching Filet. You Just Don’t Do It. The taste was good, and the spices were fresh but really overwhelmed the tuna. The tuna was prepared spot on, but it still left you wondering WTF they were thinking about.
So even though we just dropped in for a bite, we ordered another dish, the Lo Bot Lot. Or is it Bo La Lot ($12)? Hell if I know. It’s that dish we’ve all had: minced beef rolled up in something you never knew the name of – Shiso Leaf, now ya know, and you drizzle some spicy oil on it, wrap it up inside some lettuce and mange. Hey this was good. It’s a solid dish, the fresh mint added some good sweet flavor and the meat was very well seasoned, moist and with a nice grill flavor. Made for a very good bite.
So bottom line? Come for a drink or three and grab an appy. Or if you want to duck in here with a date, just as long as she’s (or he’s) not Thai. But if you’re Jonsin’ for authentic Thai food go elsewheresville.
* Yes, an asterick. And thanks for following it here. As we have yet another bone to pick (as Papa VdV was fond of saying) with those posers at UrbanDaddy. Since they apparently never really visit the places they write about, I guess it’s understandable they’d take the easy route and just go along with the storyline and call this a ‘Sexy Thai in the West Village’. (Yeah, I’ll give ‘em a link, they’re under a lot more pressure than I am to make some $$. I know their VCs). Yo, U-D take a minute to visit the places you ‘review’, maybe grab a bite yourselves so people start trusting your shit! But until that time, y’all can keep relying on good ‘ol VdV for the real scoop! (Oh yeah, and thanks for the photo;)
Hours:
5p-closing (12a or so)
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