Long time lurker...first time poster!!! I was always a little intimidated posting here because everyone blows me away with their descriptions, but here I go...

So my first meal in 2010 was TAC Quick! I gratefully live only 5 blocks away from the restaurant and thank LTH (and a fellow co-worker) for introducing me to their Authentic Thai Menu. After a much needed gym work out this morning (post NYE), I decided to satisfy my hunger with some delicious Thai food for lunch.

I started off with the Grilled Hoy Waan. The snails were grilled perfectly. Not chewey but very soft. I had this dish a few times and today's meal was the best so far. I love the blend of fish sauce with the cilantro lime and a touch of sugar.



I finally mastered using a skewer...



Next, I tried a brand new "Chef's Special "on the board. This dish is called Karee Beef Roti. It consists of a nice mixture of Karee and Red Curry, Beef, Potatoes, Carrots and Onions with Roti Bread for dipping. The beef was extra tender and I soaked every last bit of the curry with the Roti bread.

Welcome aboard, TAC Crazy. A great first post and a great first meal of 2010!

I love that Karee Beef Roti dish and didn't know it was currently available, so thanks, for the tip.

Hope to see you at TAC sometime soon,

=R=

Welcome, TAC Crazy, and thanks for the picture and description of the snails. I'm dying to try that dish, as it seems so divisive - a love it or hate it kinda thing. I have friends with usually-similar taste, but they're on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to TAC's snails.

We live a few blocks away also, and have been waiting for the Curry and Roti dish to reappear. Thanks for the heads up!

TAC Crazy wrote:I started off with the Grilled Hoy Waan. The snails were grilled perfectly. Not chewey but very soft.

Kennyz wrote:Welcome, TAC Crazy, and thanks for the picture and description of the snails. I'm dying to try that dish, as it seems so divisive - a love it or hate it kinda thing.

Yes, welcome aboard, TAC Crazy. Excellent first post.

I find your description of this dish intriguing, as REB and I (and two friends) each tried one last week and had a completely different perception. TAC's snails went 0 for 4 at our table. Maybe the divisiveness stems from whether or not you catch them on a "good snail day"?

I've really enjoyed snails in the past, but this one I spit into my napkin. I could maybe overlook the rubber band texture, but not the flavor of rotting flesh. Perhaps they weren't so fresh anymore? Perhaps I just don't like this particular breed of snail? I don't know. And, I'm a bit afraid to give them another shot to try and find out.

--Rich

I believe the texture of the snails really depends on how long they are grilled. I had the dish six times now and I would say 5 out of 6, they came out pleasantly soft. I do recount one instance where the snails were hard to chew. Maybe it was overcooked that one day? TAC Quick is usually exceptionally consistent, so the dish is worth another try since you enjoyed them in the past.

For those wondering, the Karee Beef Roti hit the special’s board on Wednesday night. I wonder if this means more new items for 2010 are on the horizon??? I am craving some Hoy Tod.

-Justin

Yesterday I took my fourth and final section of the CPA exam so a dinner out was in order. We're only in our late 20s, and in the middle of buying our first place, so we didn't exactly want to splurge financially. After considering other BYOs such as Indie Cafe, Amelia's, and Mixteco, I thought of this board and came up with TAC Quick since we hadn't been there in about a year.

Thank you, TAC Crazy, for your first post detailing the Karee beef roti! You inspired me to branch out from my usual order (the chicken and crispy basil with preserved eggs from the special menu). My date went for another item on the specials menu, basil brisket. He devoured it and raved. For appetizers we got the Issan sausage and crab rangoon. What can I say, I like deep fried cream cheese. Everything was just fantastic. I hope the beef roti stays on the menu--the beef was so tender and the bread was flaky and the perfect counterpoint to the meal. I am sorely tempted to go back there tonight .

We also enjoyed some Goose Island Matilda and I thought it went very well with the meal. That wasn't planned--I just grabbed some because it looked interesting and new to me. They are selling it at the liquor store just north of the Sheridan El stop.

We're headed over there for some roti beef and pad thai and pork neck right now, should be there around 2:30. No snails for us thankyouverymuch.

Thanks to TAC Crazy's post we took a trip to TAC on Friday night and had a great meal. The Beef Roti dish was truly magnificent, and I really appreciate the fact that the rotis themselves were the large size rather than the smaller ones they use at Sticky Rice--we didn't need to order extra.

There is also currently a pork rib special on the board that we ordered which turned out to be a soup--at first we were disappointed, but the disappointed: "awwww"s turned into "oooohs" with our first spoonfuls. The broth was amazing. Tangy, spicy, rich...and gone all too fast.

Hooray for TAC! (And TAC Crazy!)

Went to TAC this Sunday afternoon, 2 thoughts. One, the Beef w/ Roti seems different as I found the texture of the sauce overly grainy/ pasty. Wondering if this has anything to do with Erik M. being gone? Second, I ordered the Kuay Teaw Yen Ta Fo and find it hard to believe that the noodles and seafood balls are served in a spicy tomato broth as described. I found the broth an odd pink color and overly sweet, spicy, and pungent but cloyingly so. For me the dish was prepared well, but described wrong. Anyone know what the flavor was that threw me off? I don't think it was a fermented flavor as I gravitate to them.

Friday was my first time trying the Karee Beef Roti, but I do know Andy was using powder provided by Eric M.

It's been a while since I had Kuay Teaw Yen Ta Fo, but I plan on having it Wednesday night given the recent comments. Besides, I am leaving for Portland on Thursday, so what better way to start my seafood kick than Fish Maw Salad and Kuay Teaw Yen Ta Fo the night before???

Rhinopias:

JeffB wrote:FWIW, yen ta fo is a pretty standard "real Thai" dish and is typically day-glo pink with an unusual sweet-sour flavor that comes from a day-glo sauce specific to the dish.

http://grocerythai.com/yen-ta-fo-sauce-p-280.html

It's on the permanent slate at some other Thai places around town, Sticky Rice e.g. Many people love it.

(Response to a similar observation from from last week in this same thread. . . )

I was at TAC Saturday night and had the karee beef roti, as recommended by one of the waitresses. Andy made it special for the New Year. It was fantastic. The beef was extremely tender and fell apart as soon as you touched it and the vegetables were equally as tender. Wonderful karee curry. Sweet, aromatic with a dose of heat that krept up on you. A couple of my dinner companions thought the curry consisted of vindaloo spice and cardamom. If anyone knows for sure, please inform me. I saw the post about Eric M. giving a spice mixture to Andy. Enlighten me.
Another dinner companion had the basil brisket and loved it. I never fail to order Andy's som tum thai (papaya salad). Ordered, "to Thai taste" because I love it spicy. Andy always says, "It makes you poop a lot" but in a good way. hehehehehe It is good for the digestive system.

The curry powder is from a recipe by David Thompson's Thai Food. It's in the Muslim oxtail soup recipe on page 241. I am fortunate enough to have both the book and a jar of the curry powder in my kitchen. It's really amazing stuff.

Was in the neighborhood and stopped in at TAC yesterday for a solo lunch, which was typically delicious . . .



Tom Yum
I'd been thinking about this soul-warming soup for a couple of days and it really hit the spot.



Som Tum
Not as spicy as it normally is but still delicious, vibrant and fiery enough.



Karee Beef Roti
I'd only had this dish once before but thanks to TAC Crazy's post above, I knew my stop at TAC would include it.



Karee Beef
Complex and spicy (thanks, Erik ), this stew of beef, potatoes and carrots is a perfectly hearty wintertime dish.



Roti
These delectable roti are light, flaky and slightly dense all at once.

It was a bit frustrating being solo because I really couldn't order very much. Even ordering these 3 dishes was way too much. I ended up finishing the soup and bringing portions of the other 2 dishes home. I saw that Basil Brisket was on the specials board but I knew that ordering it too wasn't at all realistic. Still, it was a great lunch and a stop that satisfied my expectations entirely.

=R=

Went last night for an early dinner (6 pm on Saturday night) and had an odd seating experience.

When we arrived there were two tables marked "reserved" - for 2 and for 6. I didn't know they took reservations! The waitress asked if we had a reservation, and we said no, and were seated at one of the high-top tables near the window. There was one two-top occupied, one reserved, one open, three four-tops open (which are tables for two pushed together), the staff was eating at the table just to the right as you enter. In the back there was a table reserved for 6, an open 2-top, people eating at a table for 6, and further back 3 or 4 open two-tops. The high-top table seats are uncomfortable, and there is a stiff breeze, so when our food came we asked if we could sit at the 4-top next to us, since there were so many open tables, and the waitress said OK. We finished and left around 7-7:15 and the reserved 6 had just arrived, and the reserved 2 was still reserved. All incoming twos while we were there were seated at the high tables, or way in the back, no one was seated in the main area where we were.

It seemed very un-welcoming, do they usually do this? We go there on a Saturday night maybe every other month or so, and I've never noticed this. In the past it seemed like they filled up the main area first, and I don't recall needing reservations.

They also renovated the bathroom, it's very nice now! (did I miss someone mentioning that?)

leek wrote:When we arrived there were two tables marked "reserved" - for 2 and for 6....There was one two-top occupied, one reserved, one open, three four-tops open (which are tables for two pushed together), the staff was eating at the table just to the right as you enter. In the back there was a table reserved for 6, an open 2-top, people eating at a table for 6, and further back 3 or 4 open two-tops. The high-top table seats are uncomfortable, and there is a stiff breeze, so when our food came we asked if we could sit at the 4-top next to us, since there were so many open tables, and the waitress said OK. We finished and left around 7-7:15 and the reserved 6 had just arrived, and the reserved 2 was still reserved. All incoming twos while we were there were seated at the high tables, or way in the back, no one was seated in the main area where we were.

It seemed very un-welcoming, do they usually do this?

Gonna have to get back to you. Couldn't handle the calculations manually, so I'm building an algorithm that can handle the many data and variables you presented.

I would have stood no chance at getting into college had this been an SAT question.

I have done reservations before.

Andy told me Karee Beef Roti will be removed from the specials menu soon so make sure to get your fix!

leek wrote:Went last night for an early dinner (6 pm on Saturday night) and had an odd seating experience.

When we arrived there were two tables marked "reserved" - for 2 and for 6. I didn't know they took reservations! The waitress asked if we had a reservation, and we said no, and were seated at one of the high-top tables near the window. There was one two-top occupied, one reserved, one open, three four-tops open (which are tables for two pushed together), the staff was eating at the table just to the right as you enter. In the back there was a table reserved for 6, an open 2-top, people eating at a table for 6, and further back 3 or 4 open two-tops. The high-top table seats are uncomfortable, and there is a stiff breeze, so when our food came we asked if we could sit at the 4-top next to us, since there were so many open tables, and the waitress said OK. We finished and left around 7-7:15 and the reserved 6 had just arrived, and the reserved 2 was still reserved. All incoming twos while we were there were seated at the high tables, or way in the back, no one was seated in the main area where we were.

It seemed very un-welcoming, do they usually do this? We go there on a Saturday night maybe every other month or so, and I've never noticed this. In the past it seemed like they filled up the main area first, and I don't recall needing reservations.

They also renovated the bathroom, it's very nice now! (did I miss someone mentioning that?)

Maybe they had some large reservations and were just being cautious about seating. For a restaurant that doesn't normally get a ton of those, to suddenly have several on a Saturday night can be tricky.

And even though none of the reservations came in while you ate, they may have wanted to seat you in an out of the way spot to avoid any sticky situations in case you decided to hang out a lot longer than you did.

leek wrote:Went last night for an early dinner (6 pm on Saturday night) and had an odd seating experience.

When we arrived there were two tables marked "reserved" - for 2 and for 6. I didn't know they took reservations! The waitress asked if we had a reservation, and we said no, and were seated at one of the high-top tables near the window. There was one two-top occupied, one reserved, one open, three four-tops open (which are tables for two pushed together), the staff was eating at the table just to the right as you enter. In the back there was a table reserved for 6, an open 2-top, people eating at a table for 6, and further back 3 or 4 open two-tops. The high-top table seats are uncomfortable, and there is a stiff breeze, so when our food came we asked if we could sit at the 4-top next to us, since there were so many open tables, and the waitress said OK. We finished and left around 7-7:15 and the reserved 6 had just arrived, and the reserved 2 was still reserved. All incoming twos while we were there were seated at the high tables, or way in the back, no one was seated in the main area where we were.

It seemed very un-welcoming, do they usually do this? We go there on a Saturday night maybe every other month or so, and I've never noticed this. In the past it seemed like they filled up the main area first, and I don't recall needing reservations.

They also renovated the bathroom, it's very nice now! (did I miss someone mentioning that?)

But what did you eat ?

Hah!

We had the Papaya Salad, the Crispy Chewy Pork from the specials menu, Grilled Squid and a non-spicy noodle dish with chicken, egg, bbq pork and shrimp. All of which were good, but I agree with Suzy - the Papaya Salad was a little too spicy for me tonight.

I've been there with large reserved groups before, but never knew you could reserve for 2.

Let me get this straight; you didn't like your table. At some point you asked to move to a different table more to your liking and they said yes. I'm not sure I understand the question. It sounds like they were very accommodating to me.

stevez wrote:Let me get this straight; you didn't like your table. At some point you asked to move to a different table more to your liking and they said yes. I'm not sure I understand the question. It sounds like they were very accommodating to me.

I'm just impressed that you were able to figure out what happened.

stevez wrote:Let me get this straight; you didn't like your table. At some point you asked to move to a different table more to your liking and they said yes. I'm not sure I understand the question. It sounds like they were very accommodating to me.

I wasn't saying it was a problem, I was saying it was weird.

leek wrote:

stevez wrote:Let me get this straight; you didn't like your table. At some point you asked to move to a different table more to your liking and they said yes. I'm not sure I understand the question. It sounds like they were very accommodating to me.

I wasn't saying it was a problem, I was saying it was weird.

I guess this must be one of those "you had to be there" things.

Andy told me Karee Beef Roti will be removed from the specials menu soon so make sure to get your fix!

Ooooh noooo! (said in the voice of Mr. Bill). I'm going to have to get there PDQ! That stuff is amazing, and I'm simply too lazy to make it myself.

geli wrote:

Andy told me Karee Beef Roti will be removed from the specials menu soon so make sure to get your fix!

Ooooh noooo! (said in the voice of Mr. Bill). I'm going to have to get there PDQ! That stuff is amazing, and I'm simply too lazy to make it myself.

It may already be gone, it wasn't on there Saturday night...

Has anyone mentioned that Tac appears to have a website now and it's got a translated menu?

http://www.tacquick.net

Anyways, has anyone tried the Kao Khaa Moo? I haven't found any references on this site.

I tried the divisive grilled snails tonight, and finished the entire plate due to some sort of psychiatric condition. 2 of the 6 had an edible texture, and the other 4 will probably need some WD40 to pass through my system. I thought the garlicky, hot and acidic mignonette-like sauce was very good. TAC's grilled snails will not be in my ordering rotation.

I normally stick to green (my favorite) amd karee curry because I enjoy coconut milk in the base with some sugar for sweetness, but last night I ordered Gaeng Som Cha Om Tod for the first time. It is a sour curry with "cha om" leaf omelet, napa and papaya. It was a satisfying change to my normal rotation.