From the moment I walked through the door, I knew I would be eating a meal I would remember forever. Unfamiliar with the restaurant, I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, P.S. Restaurant, located on Court Street right here in Downtown Binghamton, is what I would like to call a home away from home. A mix of both modern and rustic art, the restaurant presents a beautiful atmosphere that makes you feel like you are once again a kid in your mom’s kitchen.
Thai Chef Preecha Songprastit originally opened P.S. Restaurant in 1984, with the hopes of spreading his knowledge of Thai cuisine throughout the Town of Vestal. Unfortunately, due to familial obligations, he was unable to continue the restaurant and was eventually forced to sell. In the year 1990, Sylvana Dodd, alongside her chef husband Richard “Rick” Dodd, decided to purchase the estate and continued to grow the restaurant’s legacy here in Binghamton. Sylvana Dodd believed that P.S. Restaurant — named after Songprastit — should not be renamed and instead should continue to grow for generations ahead. Incorporating French cuisine, both Sylvana Dodd and Rick Dodd utilized most of the previous menu and developed it into one which would cater to various different tastes. 32 years later, the restaurant continues to honor Songprastit’s Thai cuisine while also incorporating many French and Italian influences to ultimately create a menu that is to die for. The best part is that Sylvana Dodd strives for originality, so the entrees offered are constantly changing, providing new choices to pick from each time you go!
For this fall’s Restaurant Week, P.S. Restaurant will be offering a menu consisting of three mouthwatering courses for a price of $35. For the first course, the options include a tossed garden salad, British tomato soup, French onion soup — for an extra $3 — spanakopita or chicken satay with Thai peanut sauce. For the second course, some options include panko crusted chicken breast with mango salsa and mango coulis, shrimp scampi with mushrooms, lemon, white wine, garlic and butter cellophane noodles. In addition, a 14 ounce ribeye with wild mushroom demiglace can be added for an extra $8, and a ribeye and shrimp scampi for an extra $12. Additionally, they also featured homemade cavatelli with impossible meatballs, raw tomato basil sauce and garlic chips and, finally, a Thai red shrimp curry with coconut cream, bell peppers and cellophane noodles. For the third and final course, the restaurant offers two great options which include a bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and caramel whiskey sauce and an olive oil poppy seed cake with vanilla ice cream.
For my first course, I had British tomato soup, which was a combination of both creamy and tangy. You may be thinking, creamy and tangy? But trust me, once you try it, you’ll be going back for more. Briefly after, I received my second course, which was chicken breast with mango salsa and mango coulis. I personally believe that the mango salsa really brought the whole dish together, and that the chicken was cooked to perfection. Lastly, I had the bread pudding — and my love for desserts aside, I think it was my favorite part of the meal. In fact, it may have been the best bread pudding I have ever had in my life. Overall, the meal that I had at P.S. Restaurant was amazing and I will definitely be going back again. Check out P.S. Restaurant, because trust me when I say that it will be a meal you won’t forget!