Since I enjoy Asian food, I was interested when I read Nancy Sells glowing recommendation for Chopstix Asian Grill located at 9604 Ralston Road behind King Soopers. I decided to go judge this new restaurant for myself. I found a very cute facility serving a variety of foods and having the potential to positively affect the market in Arvada.

There is no doubt that it is one of the more nicely decorated establishments in the region, but its strongest selling points are the variety and the prices. Since it is an "Asian" restaurant, you can find American versions of Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, and other cuisines of the Asian region. It is nice to be able to combine. Nonetheless, there are a number of similar and good choices in the area and it will be interesting to see how competition plays out.

We started our dinner with a bottle of plum wine, served the traditional way and bowls of miso soup. I was impressed with the large bowl of soup served for the $1.50 price. That's hard to beat. It was a good soup, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn't the best I ever had.

For entrees, we chose Szechuan Tofu and Tofu with peanut sauce. It seems like every chef has his own version and his own variation of ubiquitous menu choices. In this Szechuan version, the whole peppers are absent, and substituted with pepper "flakes". It is spicy, but just not the same. I was expecting a "stir-fried" meal where the tofu and peppers are cooked on a hot wok with vegetables. This meal is more like an Americanized, "stovetop" version featuring fewer vegetables, and soft tofu in a sort of Szechuan gravy. It was good and some people enjoy it that way, but it is not my preference.

The Tofu with peanut sauce is an Americanized version of Thai cuisine. My girlfriend likes that and she enjoyed her meal. I didn't care for the "coating" on the tofu, the amount of oil used in cooking and, again, the soft texture of the curd inside. This dish, too, was lacking vegetables. There was a carrot garnish and a couple of pieces of broccoli, but that's it. The flavor and portion quantity were fine. Customers have their choice of fried rice or white rice, but this restaurant does not serve brown rice.

I liked the restaurant and will go back again, but I'll be more careful about what I order. If you like tofu served "soft", and you like recipes "tuned" more toward Americanized tastes, you will like this restaurant. I, personally, need to try a few more entrees before I complete my assessment.

In a Health Inspection Report dated December 10, 2007, Chopstix Asian Grill had nine violations, five of which were serious. Remember, Health Inspections Reports only offer a snapshot of one day and do not reflect the overall cleanliness of a facility. The nine violations were: 1). 04b- Improper temperature and sanitizer concentration at dishwasher, 2). 05b- Insufficient hot water, 3). 06b- Inaccessible hand washing sinks, 4). 06c- Lack of soap and towels at hand washing sinks, 5). 07a- Evidence of insects or rodents, 6). 12a-Unclean food contact surfaces, 7). 12d- improper wiping clothes, 8). 13a- Improper storage and use of utensils, and 9) Unclean floors, walls and ceilings. The first five are the serious violations. If you want to read this or any other food inspection report, go to the Jeffco website and click on "food inspection reports". The website offers more complete and detailed information. I will be interested to see how this restaurant fares in the upcoming follow up.

My overall rating of this restaurant on this visit is "B". Grade up for the adorable restaurant, the nice variety and the very reasonable prices. Grade down for "gooshy" tofu, Americanized recipes, and that lousy Health Inspection Report. As I said at the beginning, this place has a good idea with a lot of potential, but they haven't rounded the corner yet. The take-out business, however, does seem to be thriving.

Chopstix Asian Grill, 9604 Ralston Road in Arvada. It is located just north of the intersection of Ralston Road and Independence on the west side of the road across the street from Arvada Glass. The phone is 303-423-2958, (full take-out menu available, featuring free delivery on orders of $12.00 or more). The hours are 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days a week