Bakersfield Restaurant Guide

This place is a winner, from atmosphere to service. It has the kind of innovative, well-executed cuisine that will satisfy those seeking something more challenging. You won't get large plates of Thai food that will leave you plenty for lunch the next day, but there is real artistry at work both in the décor and the kitchen, particularly the presentation of the food.

As you walk in the door, it's impossible not to notice what looks like a science fiction contraption involving lights and wine bottles on your right. This is part of an ongoing project called a Wine Patio. You buy something like a credit card and can spend your time sampling any of 56 different wines in either one ounce, three ounce or five ounce samples. The computer will tell you in advance how much each sample costs. You can order anything you want off the menu there, but we wanted to try a conventional dinner service in the main dining room.

It's a nice place, with a stone waterfall on one wall that changes colors, high ceilings and these odd light balls that look like champagne flutes were glued together to form them. It always amazes me when someone takes an ordinary space in a shopping center and seems to create magic. The Orchid is such a place.

Fusion cuisine can mean almost anything, and in this case I'd say it means Thai influences with almost every other type of cuisine (particularly French, American and Pan-Pacific) thrown in. So there is an extensive soup and seafood menu, many pastas, steaks, lamb chops with a spicy mango avocado sauce, pork chops, clam chowder made with red curry, duck fried rice with truffles, even a "shrimp donut."