In The Round

REVIEW: Circles

by Adam Erace

Circles, the Southeast Asian takeout spot on a narrow Newbold corner, has something in common with the holes-in-the-wall I used to buy 40s from when I was underage: a thick partition of bulletproof glass. Partially draped in a red blanket embroidered with gold elephants, it divides the spare waiting room from the register behind it. You'd figure the glass would protect Circles from characters of ill repute, but their Thai is so fly, I think it's actually in place to dissuade people like me from storming the kitchen and absconding with recipes.

Chef/owner Alex Boonphaya, who came to the U.S. from northern Thailand when he was 10, opened this operation as Plan-Eat-Thai with wife, Julie, in 2008, changing the name nearly two years ago. The food is certainly circular, moving (mostly) fluidly in the Thai harmony of spicy, sour, sweet and salty.

Should I ever get past the glass, I'm going straight for the formula for pumpkin curry. The orange crescents in the red sauce don't come from American pumpkin, but from rough-necked kabocha squash turned so tender you can mash it with a fork. I hereby declare this the dish of the fall, and with online ordering and delivery till 11 p.m., Boonphaya makes it Bangkok Dangerous-ly easy to get a fix.

That was my favorite, but other options weren't far behind — green curry with beef and succulent spotted Chinese and Thai eggplants; beef salad laced with lime and fish sauce; delicate pork-and-crab dumplings; and tom kha that's even better than Café de Laos'. Loaded with chicken and white onion, the chili-lashed coconut soup had all the aggression of a velociraptor — per my request, of course.

"Everything very spicy" was my default order addendum at Circles, but the heat level was downright mercurial. The meal that included that killer tom kha, as well as a bowl of mussels, had me talking like Laura Palmer: Fire walk with me. The same request a different night delivered food with child-safe spice, and I really missed the sting in the tom yum soup, its lemongrass broth lacking that hurts-so-good burn.

Still, life is richer with Circles on speed dial. Food is packed swift and neat, and when they say it'll be ready in 20 minutes, it'll be ready in 20 minutes. But go a few ticks early for field-level views into the kitchen, where Boonphaya and Circles' cooks toil like busy Christmas elves.

(adam.erace@citypaper.net)

Circles | 1516 Tasker St., 267-687-1778, circlesnewbold.com. Open Mon., 5-11 p.m.; Tue.-Sun., 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Appetizers, $2.95-$7.95; entrées, $8.95-$14.95; dessert, $4-$6.