Thai recommendations

Hi, in a few hours I'll be bringing out a friend who really wants thai but doesn't want to go to a "hole in the wall". I want to try Oparts or Spoon Thai but I've never been to both. How's the decor at either restaurants?

It's Opart[not ('s)] and the decor is relatively sedate; Thai artifacts, dark woods, friendly(of course) staff. Damn good Ameri-Thai, too. Try the much-vaunted Tiger Cry(no, it's not spicy).

I need a place with better ambience. Any places you know?

Arun's. Nice decor there.

Of course Arun's, but, really, what are you expecting?

in the above post you say you've "never been to both."

Amarinds in Oak Park is safe both from a food and ambience perspective. Nothing earth shattering food-wise.

By all means if the ambience is more important than the food go to Arun's. I'd hardly call Opart or Spoon a hole in the wall, but everyone has their own unique perspective and that's what makes the world go round.

We decided to go to Oparts and the ambience was just perfect. Amazingly diverse menu and the spicy entrees definitely had a nice kick. Thanks for all the suggestions.

I second Arun's (http://www.arunsthai.com) for both the food and the ambience. But with the price tag of $75/person, this fine dining restaurant is not for everyone.

Another place that I would highly recommend is altThai (http://www.altthai.com) The set-up is very cool and the food is arranged prettily. The only complain that I have is the wine list. Great selection though but it would be better if I can order a glass of Shiraz or Campaign here.

altThai is definitely my choice for both the ambience and the food itself.

Have I mentioned what I think about Arun's before...

I do not even think the decor is so special, especially if you wind up in the side room. Both Spoon Thai and Arun's are pretty in their own way, as Kman states, so I do not see what the problem is with them. The food will not only be a better value, it will be better period. Thai Avenue is about as good, but I do not think there is anything beyond a "clean room" there. Sticky Rice, which I finally just tried for the first time, is, perhaps, a bit grungier...

Just for the record, I named Arun's as a (feeble) attempt at humor.

Vital Information wrote:...Sticky Rice, which I finally just tried for the first time, is, perhaps, a bit grungier...

What did you think of Sticky Rice?

LionRock wrote:

Vital Information wrote:...Sticky Rice, which I finally just tried for the first time, is, perhaps, a bit grungier...

What did you think of Sticky Rice?

Granted, I've only dented the menu...

I liked some stuff, the nam prik with vegetables, was not so keen on others, namely the "grilled" shrimps.

RAB and I ate at Opart Thai in Lincoln Square on Friday. Opart is the first Thai restaurant I visited as a kid - - before there were Thai restaurants throughout the city and suburbs. It's also one of very few restaurants to serve me a dish that was so spicy I couldn't possibly finish it. I have happy memories of Opart, but they are at least fifteen years old.

RAB suggested to our dining companions that we go to TAC Quick, instead. But, because the guest of honor is moving from Chicago and Opart is her favorite restaurant, we agreed to go.

After having enjoyed TAC recently, Opart's food seemed flat. Flavors were dull. Our requests for spicy food were ignored. Prices seemed reasonable until smallish portions were served.

We started with four appetizers. The best was the chicken larb - - flavorful and tangy. The two beef apps were okay - - tiger cry and Neau Sa-Ded. They are both "charbroiled" beef dishes, with different sauces. Because we had a party of five, we thought it wise to get two beef dishes because one wouldn't have been enough. The beef was tasty and the sauces were decent - - but neither were special. The biggest appetizer flop was the sampler platter: Egg roll, fried shumai, crab rangoon, shrimp spring roll. The egg roll was flavorless. The teeny shumai were gummy. The shrimp spring roll was just a small shrimp wrapped in a thin won ton and deep fried. I think you need a much more substantial shrimp to make it work. I didn't try the crab rangoon (not my thing).

We decided to share the mains, too. The best was a cousin of the larb, another ground meat dish - - Pad Kra Praow (sauteed basil and hot peppers with ground pork). It was fine. Nice sauce, nice pork. It was listed in the "hot and spicy" section, but had barely any sting. We had two more "hot and spicy" selections. The Pad Prik King (sauteed ginger, chili paste and green beans with chicken). Chicken was dry. Flavor was fine, though. The worst dish of the night was the Peanut Sauce Lover (sauteed cashew nuts, white and green onions with peanut sauce, with chicken). This was the choice of the guest of honor, who'd had it many times before. She, fortunately, adored the dish and ate much of it. I thought it was barely edible - - dry chicken with a thinned-out peanut sauce. Even the cashews were lost in this land of bland. Finally, we had a catfish dish (fried catfish sauteed with red curry paste, Thai eggplant and green beans). The bite I had was soggy and fishy. RAB found his to be okay, though. The eggplant was way undercooked, which is not a good thing for eggplant.

Bottom Line - - It's not what it once was. When I went through my teenage years, Thai food wasn't ubiquitous. You had to seek it out. My memories are of searing, fresh food. Perhaps the increase in the popularity of Thai food led to the decline in the quality of Opart's food. Perhaps they had to dumb things down to accommodate the palates of their expanding customer base. Or, perhaps Opart just isn't very good. In any event, the restaurant was pretty full throughout our long meal there. So, there are clearly many folks other than my friend who call themselves fans.

(Atypically, I ate Thai food for lunch on Friday, too - - at the quite average, but pleasant and quick, My Thai in the Depaul building on State in the South Loop. Rather surprisingly, my woon sen pad thai at lunch was better than anything I ate for dinner that night at Opart.)

Ronna