Fresh Side, if you didn't know, is an Asian fusion restaurant that recently moved to a new location next to A.J. Hastings on Amherst's main thoroughfare. Since 1996, it has been an Amherst favorite. Many students are familiar with Fresh Side's innovative tea rolls and non-traditional rice and pasta dishes. In fact, 60 percent of the restaurant's clientele are Amherst faculty and students. So why bother reviewing it? Well, like us, most people order the pad thai and the spicy chicken tea rolls (officially the restaurant's most popular dishes). But this time, we decided to branch out. Results varied.

Things we liked:

-All the tasty Fresh Side sauces, especially the pad thai fish sauce, spicy peanut sauce, miso dressing and bi bim Korean hot sauce.

-Menu clarity: Vegetarian, vegan, hot, cold and spicy are all indicated.

-BYOB is "welcomed" on every page of the menu (although owner Kent tells us that a liquor license is forthcoming).

-Freedom to customize: mix-and-match tea roll combinations, choice of veggie/vegan versions of each dish and the flexible kitchen (Laura likes garlic instead of ginger in her dish­-no problem).

-Novelty: Once the only pan-Asian restaurant in Amherst, now the only pan-Asian restaurant that doesn't also offer Italian pasta and bad smoothies.

That being said, the Fresh Side menu has evolved considerably since first Kent and Claudia moved from Taiwan, quit Citibank and opened their restaurant. A sampling of items on their original menu, according to Kent, included Hungarian goulash, Mongolian beef sandwiches, fettuccini alfredo and other such oddball dishes. Apparently sandwiches were phased out because day-old bread "is only good for croutons." We like the whole wheat wraps better anyway. Suffice to say, it took them a little while to find the unique Fresh Side identity that we know today.

While we appreciate the consistency of dishes and ingredients from visit to visit, some of the menu items are overly simplistic and repetitive. For instance, the majority of Fresh Side's soups have the same miso base (although Laura did try an excellent coconut curry-based seafood soup). Also, the salads tend to include minimal ingredients and some (like the Thai salad) arrive in a rather deconstructed presentation-with discreet mounds of very simple ingredients like plain cellophane noodles. A tip: Always ask for extra sauce.

Not to be overly critical-Fresh Side is an Amherst best. Dishes you must try there include Thai basil pasta, spicy bi bim noodles, five-spice beef noodle soup, teriyaki chicken tea rolls and the peanut noodle salad (but again, ask for extra peanut sauce). One staff member strongly recommends "anything with shitake mushrooms." Dishes to avoid: the pesto seaweed tea roll (Kent admits to its "questionability," although its tenure on the menu is apparently a gesture towards a few faithful followers).

Do reevaluate this Amherst institution for yourself; as critics, we certainly struggled to come up with much beef (pun intended).

Send your comments and suggestions for restaurants to review this semester to Laura Mortimer at lmortimer08@amherst.edu.