It starts with a craving.... A visceral hunger that must be sated. A roommate gives voice to his hankering.
"How about some Chinese delivered, partner?"
"Chinese? Really? Meh. How about Thai?"
"Thai! Good call. Is there a good Thai delivery place around here?"
"I would think so; we're pretty close to the International District."
And so begins an online odyssey for Thai Deliver in Seattle. First Hill can be a hard place to find delivery. Pizza is pretty well covered, and there's a sandwich shop that will speed your order to your location on the backs of happy fixie minions.
But, this is a tale of Thai delivery, and any such odyssey begins with fact finding. A Yelp search of "Thai Delivery First Hill" returns a mix of various Asian restaurants, some of which inexplicably close by 3PM, and a 50% success ratio of "Delivery: Yes"
Proximity, menu, hours, and pricing all factor into the calculus of selection, and Rom Mai Thai is well positioned geographically, has an extensive online menu ( http://www.rommaithai.com/appetizers.php ), is predictably open and affordable.
After the necessary menu item window shopping, the call is placed.
I want to clarify, for the record - and, thanks Mom for raising me right - I am not in any way a bigot, ethnocentric, xenophobic, or racist. I am a big white guy, and I love everybody. However, if you have a business, any kind of business, that caters to a multicultural clientele, like, say, urban Seattle, it behooves you to find someone who speaks English - the 15 year-old dishwasher, perhaps - to take the phone calls from the big white people who love and crave your product. Nuff said.
Having thus clarified, it was delightful that ordering was a painless communication about numbered dishes, addressing, and credit card information. There is a $35 minimum charge for delivery, which led to an awkward last-minute selection of steamed vegetables to round out the order. The order was promised 45 minutes later, and true to that estimate, the order arrived on time.
The Panang curry, while fantastically delicious, was a disappointingly small portion, but the green curry came in a bucket twice the size. Unless you like to eat your curry like soup, you'd best order your favorite variety of fried or steamed rice - the curries do not include a starchy substrate. The steamed veggies we had to tack on to the order consisted of broccoli, sliced carrots, and cabbage, obviously microwaved in their plastic clamshell container. For four bucks, I expected more.
I can't speak to what the sit-down experience is like, but I find myself slightly less than delighted. I always fear that delivery orders get short-changed owing to the inconvenience and anonimity of such transactions. I think this was the case today.
I would give the food I ate 5 stars for flavor, but the portion size and lack of rice or vegetables with the order knock that down to 3. The minimum charge of $35 is bogus too. $20 seems more reasonable to me, for an order for two people. $0.45 worth of steamed veggies, nuked in plastic, is just robbery for $4.
So I remain at search, in my endless pursuit of the epic Asian Delivery to First Hill. and if you know anyone that delivers Nachos at 1:00 in the morning - let me know.
Overall - Three Stars
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