In short:
Great new space with an incredible menu of street food and interesting dishes you don't see everywhere, plus some familiar comfort food. Everything is executed beautifully.
In long:
This is the same group of people who used to run a legendary Thai place a few blocks south of here, and got displaced by the light rail station. They are already tearing it up in the new place, which coincidentally is also in new construction.
It's a big multi-level apartment complex, so parking might get tough when they get busy and units fill up. But it's a great space for the bar and dining room--clean, bright, attractively decorated, comfortable.
You get table visits right away, and the whole front-of-house team seems to take turns filling water, running food, taking orders, and so on. They're all very friendly and fun, and seem to have a nice women-power vibe going without saying it out loud. You really feel the pride they have in running such a cool place.
The menu goes and goes--seriously, if you do nothing else before deciding where to eat, check the menu online. Apps, soups, salads, entrees, all with good detailed descriptions and even a little history or context. This one's a northern Thai dish, this is street food, another one is this or that. They do have a couple of familiar phad dishes, but 50+% of the menu was totally new to me, and I've probably eaten Thai food once a month at least for decades.
I can't even pretend to remember the dish names in Thai, so, sorry about that. We filled up on 4 appetizers because we couldn't narrow down the list. We'll just have to come back for soups and entrees. We'll definitely be doing that soon.
Beef meatballs
Spongey, chewy, and not the easiest to cut with a fork. Just like pho meatballs in terms of texture. Nice big flavors. I hit them (and everything else on the table) with a mix of pickled pepper oil and dry chili flakes. Real kick to the flakes! If you like spice, definitely get your hands on the condiment caddy.
Mushroom fritters
Dense, chewy, and nice big cuts of shroom. Flavorful light batter. Great sweet dipping sauce.
Fried pork
Like everything else, this came with tons of crunchy fresh veg sliced on the plate. For once, I took all that and made a salad. Worth it. And this pork was delicious too! Without the chopped veg it was kind of a funny-looking plate, but, man, is it delicious. Served bite-sized, deep-fried, and loaded with good flavor.
Dumplings
Mild seasonings on this dish, easily remedied by the spice caddy. Great texture, clearly house-made. Worth ordering again but we'll be working our way through the rest of the menu, too.
Prices here were very fair, and they do have bottled beer. Cocktails coming very soon, and the recipes on the drinks menu sound like they will be amazing. You gotta check out this place. read more