Lots of Ups and a Few downs

There were several great things about this restaurant. My girlfriend and I dined here on the 19th of January, and had a reasonably good experience.

First the atmosphere. I loved it. The ambiance is awesome, perfect lighting, great decor, the art and sculpture is pretty great to look at. I did not visit the bar, other than to try to catch a game score on the T.V.'s, but it looked kinda small and not very easy to visit.

The service was good, but somewhat forced, our server seemed uncomfortable and kind of nervous. It may be due to the unacceptably long greet they must deliver. I was bored and a little uncomfortable by the end of the long rant. Our server did not stop back too often, which I like, he kept a good amount of distance, but stoped back often enough to keep us happy.

We did all courses for this visit, starting with a Chicken Potsticker Appetizer, which was good, the chicken was well seasoned without being over bearing and the sauces on the side were very complimentary, a sweet Hoisin and a slightly spicy scallion soy sauce. Next we had a cup of the Hot and Sour Soup, it was noted as a slightly spicy item, but I found it was not even slightly spicy. The broth was very good and the ingredients were well balanced.

Now for the main course. The portions were quite abundant without being too much. My girlfriends Sweet and Sour Chicken was nicely sour with a great pineapple flavor but lacked any real balanced sweetness, lots of sour, not enough sweet. However it was well cooked and the accompanying rice dish was well cooked too. My dish of Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork Loin was another pretty good dish with a sauce problem. The Pork was grilled to absolute perfection very juicy and extremely tender, perfect. The coconut rice that it was served with was mildly sweet and just as wonderful. The problem came with a lemongrass sauce that was just sadly over the top. Too lemony, too earthy, and just a bold in your face destroyer of a perfect cut of pork. So, I scraped it off and did well with my pork and coconut rice.

Desert was a Banana Wonton dish that was a interesting take on a bananas foster. Cinnamon wontons with a slice of banana and a carmel sauce with vanilla ice cream, very good very sweet. Imagine a Taco Bell Cinnamon twist with a banana in it. And the coffee was great too.

Overall I was happy. If it had not been for some pretty bad sauces I would have been completely satisfied. I will go back, mostly to try the fresh bar, similar to the B.D.'s Mongolian Barbecue concept.

Leave it to the Pros!

Amazing. Just don't do the make your own thing. These people are professionals. You are not. Let them do the hard work and give you a well-constructed meal with quality flavor profiles. You will not be disappointed. Oh. And try the Tuna Appetizer! To die for!

Killer Calamari

So I was nervous about going into this place. It looked like PF Chang's vs. Mongolian BBQ. Surprisingly its pretty damn good! A very well traveled friend of mine who happens to be the fussiest eater I have ever met made a complaint about our calamari at work and insisted that we try the calamari at Stir Crazy. He was correct, its pretty damn good. Do I believe its better than mine....nah. It most certainly does not hold up to that culinary, tentacled gem that Capitol Grille serves up either but its still V.G.S.. The Ahi Tuna is presented beautifully and generously. The service here was quirky and my waitress seemed to not understand the concept of bottled water but who cares, the food is good stuff! The Banana Wontons, oh man! Gnarly! I am a banana fiend. Moderately priced as well. I will certainly be dining here on my next excursion back up to Castleton!

Try it out!

Great place. I've been there twice, once where I made my own, and the other where I ordered it straight from the menu. I ordered the Orange Chicken.....Deeeelish. Not too much orange flavor and not too little, also it had a little spiciness to it.

Cool surroundings too, high ceiling that has large paper lights that hang down and gigantic chopsticks with shrimp hanging in the middle of the restaurant.

Not so crazy about this place.

You'd literally have to be crazy to go back to this place twice. I don't know if mine was a unique experience but, I went here with my husband and his family on a Saturday night.

First impression of the place was positive. The restaurant was tastefully decorated and the seats were comfortable enough. Our waiter, Robert told us that they were out of drinking glasses and that he's trying his best to find us some. It took him over 20 minutes to get everyone their drinks. The few times that we were refilled (no, we don't drink a lot… their glasses are kind of small), our waiter literally picked up our glasses and took them with him to reuse. That was fine, but I wish they would do refills by carrying over pitchers with water/soda instead. How do I know my glass is not being swapped with someone else's?

On to the food! For appetizers, we ordered the fried calamari and vegetable spring rolls. The calamari was surprisingly good. It was not overcooked and the flavoring was just right. The spring rolls however, were very bland, oily and tasteless. Not worth the money they were charging!

I ordered the Chicken Pad Thai and asked them to make it spicy. I was very disappointed. The spiciness of the dish was mild at best, and Stir Crazy uses huge chunks of tofu that had this weird tangy flavor I can't quite describe. Yes, I realize they cater their food to the local palate but really… it's like they took a great Asian Recipe, Americanized it and then butchered it beyond repair. Noodles & Co. Pad Thai is a lot better.

My husband had their pork fried rice. I tried some and honestly, I wasn't impressed with that either. I get better fried rice from my local Chinese restaurant for less than half the cost!

Prepare for a great time!

Start with Lettuce wraps and try hard not to finish them all! Thai Chicken Satays are great too! Take the time to make your own dish, easy instructions for portioning and sauce use make it a cinch! I've never had room for desert but I'd think it would be pretty good too.

disappointing

We went on a Thursday and very excited about their menu. Started with the Mussels in green sauce. At first it seemed very good, but the mussels were very small and not very many. Plus too much lemon grass had to be picked out. Not very filling. We ordered the Blazing noodles with shrimp, extra spicy. Extreemly dispointing. The flavor tasted very fake. Like something you would buy frozen or in a box. I would not go back. I love Thai food but will stick with the restaurants owned by local owners (Thai Smile 2, Jasmine, Swaswaee) that are authentic Thai food or PF Changs.

Great appetizers

I really enjoy this place. I've been there three times now, and the only thing I haven't appreciated about the service is that the waitress always asks if we have been to Stir Crazy before, so that she can explain the process if we haven't. I've always said yes, but for some reason both times she still took 10 minutes to explain how everything works. Slightly annoying. Our office tried out the Crazy Pu Pu Platter, where you can make a combination of appetizers for everyone to enjoy. The vegetable spring rolls, chicken potstickers, and lettuce wraps were all delicious. I wasn't crazy about the cocunut shrimp. Having all the appetizers was enough to fill me up, that I didn't order a main meal. The other two times I've visited I've made my own dish. I think this is the more enjoyable route. The whole wheat noodles are excellent as an addition to the make your own.