You’ve seen them everywhere, but probably never gave much thought or notice to them. They’re there when you arrive, and there when you leave, and they share your most intimate restaurant moments: listening in, nodding their pretty little heads, and remaining absolutely mum long after you’ve departed with your dishy dining mate. They are the little bouquets of flowers that adorn many restaurant tables. Generally made up of a single rose or, far worse, some carnations or alstroemeria, they more often than not strike me as sad and failed attempts at bringing the idea of beauty into an eating space, while not actually providing any.
Occasionally, though, they do work, and mostly by accident. When the happy coupling such as the one featured here occurs, my heart gets a little giddy – as much for the perfection and simplicity of such beauty as for the unexpected nature of the chance encounter. We get so little, sometimes, that when it’s there, even in the tiniest of bouquets, it means something more.
These are from the Columbus Avenue location of House of Siam, where the goodness of the Thai dishes is just as vibrant and delicious as this little floral grouping.
