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Thai food has come of age in Pittsburgh this past year, and it's almost become so ubiquitous a part of the local dining scene, it's hard to remember what it was like without it.

There have always been some Thai-leaning restaurants around, though. Lemongrass was one of them -- a Squirrel Hill second-story walkup, not to be confused with Downtown's Cambodian Lemongrass Cafe -- that was kind of a secret meeting place where unusual food was consumed and plans were discussed. Then, it closed for a while and reopened as Bangkok Balcony, with a sleek, urban Asian-chic redesign, and a brilliant new menu that made you forget all about the old one.

The lighting is dim, with a reddish tint, but that's OK. During lunchtime the place is flooded with light from the big wall-length windows that overlook busy Forbes Avenue. The restaurant's look -- sexy urban minimalism -- is amplified by a subtle arrangement of Thai artifacts and (mostly nude) statuary.

Almost everything at Bangkok Balcony is as good as you'll find anywhere, in Pittsburgh at least. The only less-than-stellar dishes I've ever seen here have been when an order got mixed up, and the staff hurried to get something passable on the table. Even then, it was fresh and accurately spiced. The dinner menu is a work of focus, balance and subtlety. The lunch menu chops just about everything down to $7, with smaller portions.

Green Curry ($7) is as spicy as you can handle it, laden with hot bell peppers. Your choice of meat or tofu, green beans, snow peas, eggplant and basil leaves are generous under the surface of the coconut-milk curry -- the beans in particular soak up hot curry and become little spice bombs that go off if you eat them without looking.

Mussaman Curry ($7) is an especially hot, deep orange-tinted bowl of creamy coconut milk and curry paste, with big chunks of potato and chicken.

See-Ew Noodle ($7) is my favorite Thai noodle dish, finally passing up the beginner's standby, Pad Thai. The noodles are large, thin and flat, and when prepared perfectly (like here), they absorb the spicy brown sauce without becoming heavy or soggy. Meat is optional -- I usually go for chicken or shrimp -- but not totally necessary. Egg, yellow beans and what seems like a week's worth of broccoli round out this delightful dish.

Pad Thai ($7) is the grilled chicken sandwich of Thai food -- the dish every restaurant has that always works if you're not feeling adventurous. Long, thin noodles are stir-fried with your choice of meat and mixed with lots of egg, green onions, bean sprouts and crushed peanuts. It's hard to miss with Pad Thai, and Bangkok Balcony is so confident in the freshness of its ingredients that it doesn't overdo it on the peanuts -- a common crutch.

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