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• Stir Crazy

Tuna and avocado poke, available at Stir Crazy.

Bangkok noodles with chicken at Stir Crazy.

Stir Crazy, located in the Castleton Square.

Stir Crazy takes up considerable real !estate in the new Castleton Square mall addition and lends an artful and elegant air to the space. Not what I was expecting from the chain of casual restaurants that reached Greenwood in November and Castleton just a month later.

A menu as expansive as the restaurant glosses over several Asian cuisines, stopping a while in the Chinese realm, and comes up with some winning, if surprising, combinations.

The Food

Our first pick, Thai chicken and shrimp crepes ($7), looked more like soft tacos, with 8chewy shells and a delectable filling of diced chicken, shrimp, water chestnuts, 8shiitake mushrooms and scallions in a lightly spicy Szechwan sauce. A good start, but our second appetizer topped it.

Ahi tuna and avocado poke ($9) is a logistical challenge, particularly if you're sharing. (Eating layer by layer worked well.) Three fried wonton rounds are daubed with ginger-lime and sriracha sauces and then stacked with marinated ahi, toasted sesame seeds, avocado and red onion. Spicy, cool and zesty flavors mingle without tripping over each other.

Stir Crazy offers a do-it-yourself dinner with its Market Bar, where diners build stir fries that they hand over to cooks down the line. I'm opposed to all restaurant setups in which food doesn't magically come to me in its final form, so I went for options from the comprehensive menu, which brings together Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese cuisines.

Bangkok noodles ($12) made a puny showing, flavorwise, and the wide wheat noodles were chewy -- boiled past their prime. Chicken and a mix of veggies tossed in a pale version of red curry sauce did little to enliven the noodles. Cashew-encrusted tilapia ($14) wore a thick, sweet crust peppered with cashews and was drizzled with rich peanut sauce. Rice and flavorful garlic spinach sided the fish fillets.

Mango creme brulee ($6) needs an overhaul. The outsized custard had a curd-like texture and tasted of artificial flavoring.

The Service

Servers seemed to be entirely on their own, except for the manager, who dropped by twice to ask about our experience. Is there anyone who enjoys or feels validated by chain-mandated table visits? Our server was friendly and took good care of us but did not know much about Asian food and expected us not to, either. Fair enough, I guess: It's a very Midwesternized chain. (Behold the ice-cream pie dessert.)

The Atmosphere

Stir Crazy, despite its goofy name and the giant, shiny red chopsticks hanging from the dining-room ceiling, looks downright elegant. The restaurant is in no way formal, but wears sophisticated, lovely decor. A red and lushly patterned curved wall runs the length of the long open kitchen; red and black accents around the room keep the sophistication on the warm side. In all, a warm place to settle in for a meal.

The Price

$75 for two adults, including tax, tip, and a glass of wine. I take no issue with the appetizers' price tags, but both entrees seemed steeply priced.

Next Time

Lemongrass pork tenderloin, with coconut rice and teriyaki-glazed green beans. Or maybe Asian Cajun tuna -- grilled, Cajun-seasoned ahi topped with soy-wasabi sauce.