Make no mistake about it, you will shell out more money at Vong's Thai Kitchen than at your basic neighborhood Thai joint. But when it comes to finesse, flavor and atmosphere, Vong's Thai Kitchen (VTK) steals the show.

The "Vong" part of the name harks back nine years now, to when Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises closed Tucci Milan in this space and decided to jump on the Thai noodle boat. Stepping off the boat from New York City was celebrity superchef (books, restaurants, products, endorsements) Jean-Georges Vongerichten. One of Vongerichten's New York restaurants was called Vong, and the Thai-inspired French food he was serving held New Yorkers -- and, it seems, the food trust at LEYE -- in thrall. (I ate at the NYC Vong in 1992 and was duly impressed.)

I have no idea if Vongerichten visits VTK Chicago to tweak the menu or to change this dish or add that flavor. Celebrity chefs with multiple locations can't be everywhere. In these situations, it's all about the name. Ah, but after nine years, does the name really matter? Flavor and quality trump cute name every time, and VTK really knows how to vamp and amp the flavor, so, for the most part, the enjoyment level is high.

I'm not about to get all misty-eyed about the food here, though, because the kitchen can come up with a real clunker now and then. The "crusted shrimp satay," for example. The "crusted" part wasn't so great. One would hope that "crusted" implies crispy to some degree, but in this instance it was gummy (the crust was falling off the shrimp pretty much on its own), which, of course, impacted the shrimp.

There was a similar problem with another appetizer, the herb-crusted calamari. The squid rings were tender and enjoyable, but the crusted part wasn't so much so (gummy again). And the portion was pretty small for the price ($7.95).

Moving on to much better fare, the tamarind barbecue pork was delicious. The "logs" of tender and flavorful pork, stacked askew, were quite delicious. And the tidy small salad on one end of the plate was quite good, too.

The strength of the kitchen at VTK comes out in the curry dishes and pad thai. Panang chicken, for example, was great. If you like your curry to make your eyeballs sweat, then ask for it "extra hot." Slices of tender chicken ("pulled chicken," the menu notes) were awash in a peanut curry that had been laced with kaffir lime for background flavor. Peas, snow peas and strips of red bell pepper added the perfect mix of texture and accent.

Grilled tamarind beef tenderloin was another fine main dish. Tamarind was the note that pushed the flavor of the tender slices of beef (a generous amount) forward. On the plate with the beef was Thai fried rice, chockablock with nuts, seeds and spices. It was quite good.

The shrimp and chicken pad thai was terrific. It was not so much about the little nuggets of chicken and the tiny bits of shrimp, rather the goodness of the rice noodles, the shoots, sprouts and peanuts, and the exuberant flavor.

I was equally impressed with the sesame peanut noodle salad. "Salad" was employed rather loosely (there were leaves of romaine lettuce, which were used more for garnish than anything else. The goodness of this "salad" was in the egg noodles and everything that went into and around them -- cucumbers, peppers and ground peanuts -- and the terrific way the sesame taste played out.

Vong's desserts draw smiles, especially at lunch, when the "World's Smallest Desserts" menu (on the back of the business card for the restaurant) is brought out. These desserts, each several bites in size, go for a buck each (at lunch). Don't miss the passion fruit souffle. Whimsy meets wonderful. Served in a teacup, this was a terrific souffle, one that was rich with flavor to the last bite.

Ditto for the mini-Valhrona chocolate cake. And double it up for the mochi (green tea and mango were tried). Those little round bonbons of ice cream wrapped in mochi dough are not to every taste, but I happen to love them.

Pat Bruno is a free-lance writer, critic and author. E-mail brunoeats@aol.com.

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