I will preface this by saying that if this place was in downtown Seattle, or another metro center, I'd give it four stars because of the wait time (more on that later), but because it's on Snoqualmie Ridge and this good, it's definitely a five star shindig.
We live in North Bend, and there is F-all good cuisine here in town. Other than standard pub fare, a decent Chinese place, and a decent teriyaki place, there is literally nothing else of note. I lived and worked in multiple metro centers including downtown, so I know what the bar is set at even for average. But, I digress, we didn't move to North Bend because of the food. I bring this up because the Ridge is only a 5 minute drive away on 90, and there is an increasing number of good places. Thai Eatery is one of them. I think someone told me that this particular storefront has had a number of previous businesses, none of which lasted too long. It's pretty close to the 90 exit for Snoqualmie, maybe 2 minutes up the Ridge, so that's a plus for them. They're also in a little business center with a Shell (pretty sure this is like the only gas station in town, so double plus on location) and health offices, surrounded by a lot of residential complexes.
So, on to the food. It's phenomenal. I've never been to Thailand, and I'm going to assume most anything served in the states is nothing like street food there, but it tastes da*n good. I'm not talking about doused with ketchup/corn syrup good, I'm talking fish sauce and tamarind sauce good. I have no idea if that's actually what they use, but it sure is tasty. I actually haven't tried very many dishes, due to the fact that the pad thai is always my standard, but it is bomb.com/delish. Very moist, very good proportion of sauce, and the chicken (I always get chicken) is always tender. Some of the other ones I've tried are the jungle crispy chicken, which like it sounds, is a large serving of battered chicken coated in their sauce, fried to a crisp. Don't get this for takeout, as the crispy will be turned into muddy by the time you get home, but if you eat in by all means get it. Their other noodle dishes like pad see ewe (bhahhhhhhhhh) are also great, and a little healthier with plenty of steamed veggies. We've had a few of their apps as well, like the fresh spring rolls of course (save the peanut sauce to put on your main dish), their corn fritters, etc. The food is always tasty, and the portions are generous.
Coming to the pre-disclosed docking of one point, is a small problem at times where the wait times can be excessive. A lot of times on weekday or weekend nights, they don't necessarily look busy inside, but they can have a long list of takeout orders to fulfill. We've learned to call ahead, but even then, sometimes we end up waiting 30 minutes or more from time of call to pickup. I frankly am not sure how they might start addressing this, given that the kitchen is that size, you're not going to cram another two cook stations in. But, we've learned to call way in advance, ask and make sure we know what their most accurate assessment of time is, and get a freakin' delish meal, so that's why this little problem is not going to take them down from a five star.
Thai Eatery is definitely a must if you live on or near the Ridge, or if you just want some great tasting food! read more