Los Angeles : Spicy BBQ Restaurant [Pics]

While walking back to my hotel from Marouch, the other night, I popped in to a Thai hole-in-the-wall called Spicy BBQ Restaurant on a complete lark. Over the years I've walked by it a number of times without so much as a second glance, but for some reason, on this particular night, I thought to stop and request a takeaway menu. Well, to make a long story short, after chatting about some very special menu offerings with the Chiang Mai-born owner (the lovely "Nong") and her hostess (the equally lovely "Kay"), it was clear to me that a return trip was required just as soon as I was able. So, the next day, after taking care of a few errands up on Hollywood Blvd., I hustled back down to the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Normandie for my midday repast...


the words "aahãan nẽua," or "northern thai food," in the window gave it away...


imagine 5 tiny tables arranged in a shoe box...


sâi ùa, a northern thai-style sausage with lemongrass, chile, and kaffir lime


náam phrík nùm, a northern thai-style green chile dip


look at that gorgeous colour and texture…


kaeng khae, a northern thai curry with vegetables, chicken, and wild edibles


a close-up: dill, lemongrass, chicken, green squash, and various wild edibles


sôm tam kûng phão, a papaya salad with grilled shrimp

The verdict? Phenomenal. Truly. I did have a minor quibble with the papaya salad, which I found overly sweet, but it too was otherwise exceptional. I suppose, though, that what you really want to know is how I thought it compared with the same at Chicago's Sticky Rice? Well, I will say this: bless Kritsana Moungkeow's heart, but when it comes to Northern Thai-style cookery, this woman can run complete circles around her. The moist sausage was bursting with wild, spicy flavour; the fresh green chile dip had wonderful, viscous body from the addition of charred eggplant, and a mellow, radiant heat; and the curry was like nothing I had ever tried before (even though I've had the dish a number of times), with all of the wild and rugged character of Northern Thailand.

Now, as far as the rest of the menu goes (papaya salad notwithstanding), I cannot say. It does not appear to differ dramatically from your run-of-the-mill ThaiAm restaurant menu, with various fried appetizers, soups, stir-fries, and fried noodle plates. At any rate, based on my admittedly meager sampling, I do not hesitate in heartily endorsing the Northern Thai foodstuffs, and to that end I present you with my translation of the Thai portion of Spicy BBQ Restaurant's menu:

NORTHERN THAI SPECIALTIES

lâap thâwt : deep-fried seasoned pork patties with roasted rice powder and chile
lâap nẽua : spicy Northern Thai-style stir-fried minced meat salad
tam kha-nũn : “pounded” jackfruit salad with chile
plaa buang tàet dìaw : seasoned, dried, and fried catfish (pieces)
sâi ùa : Northern Thai-style sausage with lemongrass, chile, and kaffir lime
khanõm jiin náam ngíaw : ground pork, pork rib, and tomato curry with rice vermicelli
khâo sawy : Chiang Mai-style curry with egg noodles and chicken or beef
náam phrík nùm : Northern Thai-style green chile dip
náam phrík àwng : Northern Thai-style minced pork and tomato dip
kaeng hangleh : Burmese-style pork curry with pickled garlic, ginger, and chile
kaeng hó : Northern Thai-style curry with pickled bamboo shoots and mung bean noodles (no coconut milk)
kaeng khae : spicy Northern Thai-style curry with wild edibles and chicken (no coconut milk)

"NONG'S" SPECIALTIES

plaa kràwp nùm : mild, crisply-fried catfish (pieces)
sôm tam kûng phão : papaya salad with grilled shrimp
kaeng sôm : “sour” curry with vegetables (no coconut milk)

Spicy BBQ Restaurant
"We Specialize in Northern Thai Food"
5101 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323.663.4211

Hey, would you look at that! It's right next door to Falafel Arax!

E.M.

More great stuff, within walking distance of the Abuelita's house. Erik, I've stepped in there before to see what Thai spicy BBQ was (I figured they might be cooking stuff on charcoal like they (sometimes?) do behind the large grocery store nearby.) In retrospect, I guess that's naive: if live coals aren't cool in Koreatown, they probably are off limits in Thai Town as well. When I encountered what appeared to be a regular old Thai menu, I moved on. Of course, that scenario had played out many times in Chicago before you started kicking down the doors for non-Thais...

JeffB wrote:More great stuff, within walking distance of the Abuelita's house. Erik, I've stepped in there before to see what Thai spicy BBQ was (I figured they might be cooking stuff on charcoal like they (sometimes?) do behind the large grocery store nearby.) In retrospect, I guess that's naive: if live coals aren't cool in Koreatown, they probably are off limits in Thai Town as well. When I encountered what appeared to be a regular old Thai menu, I moved on. Of course, that scenario had played out many times in Chicago before you started kicking down the doors for non-Thais...

Jeff, as you probably know by now, "Thai BBQ chicken" is on offer at a number of Thai establishments in the area, and, nearly without exception, the product is entirely mediocre. "Kay," the hostess at Spicy BBQ Restaurant, spoke highly of their rendition of the same and the plates which passed my table that day indeed looked quite good. But, I had an agenda and BBQ was not part of my plan.

Interestingly enough, a Thai patron that I chatted with while eating my lunch raved about a "real wood" BBQ chicken joint somewhere in the vicinity of Western and 8th/9th, but when I pressed for the details she told me that it was Mexican.

And, then, of course, there is the "volcano chicken" at Red Corner Asia which Jonathan Gold raves about...



Regards,
E.M.

Erik,

I notice dill included in the ingredients in one of the dishes above. Is dill a traditional ingredient in Thai cuisine?

Just wondering...

Antonius

Antonius wrote:Erik,

I notice dill included in the ingredients in one of the dishes above. Is dill a traditional ingredient in Thai cuisine?

No, in fact its use is quite exceptional, being almost exclusively limited to remote Northern Thailand.

Interestingly enough, the Thai name for dill classifies it with both coriander and "long," or "sawtooth" coriander:


phàk chii ("coriander")

phàk chii fàrang ("foreign coriander")

phàk chii lao ("Laotian coriander;" Laos shares a border with N./N.E. Thailand, and dill is quite common in Laotian cuisine)

E.M.

Thanks for the detailed answer. Very interesting!

A

Erik M.,

I am really enjoying your LA trip posts. This is particularly true because I am currently working downtown at Good Sam hospital so hollywood and downtown spots are much more accessible to me. Langers is in fact the bomb and Phillippe's was worth a pilgrimmage even though the lamb dip with blue was only just enjoyable.

I hope that on your next trip to LA you will explore Can Coon thai in Bellflower.

Can Coon Thai (http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.phpt=9 ... light=coon)
9887 Alondra Blvd
Bellflower, CA 90706
(562) 925-0993

This place has a page with maybe 25 Isaan specialties that I think would really stimulate your obsession with regional thai cuisine. Definately worth a short drive down the 91.

Anyway please continue the great reporting on your LA trip.

Alexi

ponzu wrote:I am really enjoying your LA trip posts. [...] Anyway please continue the great reporting on your LA trip.

Thank you, Alexi, and, yes, I still have a number of places to report on from my recent trip. I am really only getting warmed up.

Thank you too for the Can Coon tip. I am very curious about that. At any rate, stay posted because I have a very, very special "regional Thai" find to share with the board.

BTW, my standard order at Phillipe's is a dbl-dipped lamb and blue French Dip sandwich with a good lashing of hot mustard, cole slaw, a pickled egg, an iced tea, and a lemonade.

E.M.

finally made it here after 2 futile attempts.

the laap thawt is one of the funnest things i've had. it's sorta like... imagining all the funky porkiness of the various thai sausages hand patted down to burger form.

who doesn't like burgers?

Kay is still there. Nong herself was in garb (much like Queen Amidala herself) in the kitchen but her special "fried catfish" just wasn't our thing. I'd prefer if she dumped some fish sauce in her "special" apple-vinegar sace.

My current Thai food rotation:
Jitlada (avoiding since CH/LA Times/LA Weekly blow-up)
Pailin (also does a nice nam phrik num)
Spicy BBQ
Can Coon & Rachada (when I'm in 562)

Current SGV Taiwanese rotation:
Old Country Cafe
Pa Pa Walk
various Shau Mei
Yi Mei (the best cold chicken sesame noodles period)
Ding Pangzi
Sinbala (when I'm in RH or Arcadia)

Bit ashamed to say i haven't ventured west of Thai Town for a meal since coming back. haven't had the need to travel out of "Asia" for my eats...

Jitlada (avoiding since CH/LA Times/LA Weekly blow-up)

I prefer to think of it as our first LTH effect in Los Angeles.