Dining Out:

Like a lot of people in Glendale, I had noticed the Sedthee Thai Eatery sign lit since October, yet I had never seen any signs of life. I had all but given up on the restaurant opening. So it was with a fair amount of surprise when last week, I saw people inside and thought I’d give it a shot.

I’m not a bona fide culinary critic, but I am a lover of Thai food. So I’d like to think I can competently discern between good, better and best. I am overjoyed to say that what is happening at this new spot on Brand goes above and beyond anything I’ve experienced in the genre.

The two people responsible for Sedthee Thai Eatery are siblings Jimmy Vanavi and Christie Vanavi-Lin. While this is their first restaurant venture, it’s clear that they learned well from the two generations of their family that have owned Thai restaurants in Glendale and Thailand.

“Our parents have owned Indra Thai restaurant in Glendale for 35 years,” Jimmy Vanavi said. “Before that, our family history in the restaurant business goes back to Bangkok.”

Both siblings had decided they wanted their menu to be more modern and healthy. The reinvention of traditional favorites is so good that before I could write this review, I returned a second time to sample a few more dishes just to make sure the first meal wasn’t a fluke.

On my first trip, I was knocked out by the Larb ($7.95), the lemongrass mussels ($8.95) and the Pad Thai ($7.95). Each dish seemed more satisfying than the one before, particularly the Pad Thai noodles, which deftly avoided the typical gummy quality so many Thai restaurants serve. But the highlight had to be the spicy string beans in red curry ($7.95). The curry is a family recipe and was so rich in flavor that it took everything we had not to lick the bowl clean.

Our second trip proved even more spectacular. The Sedthee golden papaya appetizer ($9.95) is a completely original take on the traditional green papaya salad. A nest of papaya is prepared like a fritter, then topped with a soft-shell crab, and accompanied by a spicy lime dressing with string beans and cherry tomatoes.

The panang Sedthee ($13.95) is fall-off-the-bone beef short ribs with an elegant panang curry. The best dish of this night was the smokin’ seafood curry ($14.95), a delicious combination of cod, scallops, shrimp and squid in red curry. True to the owners’ style, the dish is served on a sizzling plate under miniature clay pots. The Pad See You noodles ($7.95) were expertly prepared and again were a perfect example of how to cook rice noodles without turning them into a mushy clump.

The full bar is armed with drinks ingeniously named Siam Kiss and Walk With Me, Sweet Buddha. Credit for that goes to Christie Vanavi-Lin, who researched and modified libations to complement their menu. The bar area is big, and while the generous amount of tables and couches were unoccupied opening night, here are three reasons why that will change quickly.

The red light martini is delicately sweetened with lychee and spiked with a spicy Thai chili. Sedthee’s elixer is a concoction of vodka, coconut, Thai herbs and chili that claims to combat illness and improve blood circulation. And with most drinks priced under $7, fighting off a flu bug has never been more enjoyable.

“Our goal was to create a place where the drink prices were appropriate to the economy,” Christie Vanavi-Lin said. “We want Sedthee to feel more like a hangout — a place you could come, kick back and enjoy.”

Get in touch GARY HUERTA is a Glendale resident and author. He is senior manager of communications for DIRECTV and a copy writing professor at Pasadena Art Center College of Design. He may be reached at garyrhuerta@gmail.com.