charleston thai.

Went for lunch today to a great place in downtown Charleston called 'Basil.' One of the coolest signs I have ever seen, it was a neon sign adorned with a 'cruiser' on top - cruisers are very popular in a lot of foreign countries, Thailand being one of them. I can't remember the name of the most popular brand, but they've started to sell them in NYC. I wonder if the one at the top of the sign is the same kind...
For lunch we had a couple of things, all of which were stellar. The place had a great energy, and we opted to sit at the counter where you could see the line staff preparing all of the hot items. It was really cool to see how this kitchen was arranged - not like any restaurant I've ever worked in before. It was like a mash-up between a short order Waffle House-esque arrangement and a Thai street food vendor.

The food was so clean and multi layered -- the soup was served in the contraption above. You can't tell from the picture, but there was a flame that burned through the cylinder in the middle the entire time we were eating the soup, keeping it all simmering and releasing the most insane smell.

Definitely plan on going back.