Coming Soon: New Thai Menu at T.A.C.

In the very near future, the Thai Menu at T.A.C. Quick will be changing. The chef, Andy, has informed me that a few of the present menu selections will be dropped to make room for some new items. Sadly, this list of menu deletions includes both the naam phrik awng and the puu lon. So, in the future, these items will only likely be available behind alot of begging and pleading.

Over the past few weeks, I have had the good fortune to sample some of the items that are being considered for inclusion. This list includes phat phak ka-naa muu krawp (Chinese broccoli stir-fried with crispy pork), khaw muu yaang (grilled pork neck), tom yam kung nang (sour soup with a giant prawn and its crisply fried head), kaeng muu tay poh (Orange tamarind curry with water spinach and pork belly), and phat phet muu paa (spicy curry fry with wild boar).


phat phet muu paa

If these dishes are any indication, it is my opinion that there is alot to look forward to in the coming days at T.A.C. Their rendition of phak ka-naa--which includes the most perfectly fried pillows of pork--is a revelation, and IMO, shames all of the other renditions in this town. I have a similarly strong opinion of both the pork neck and the Orange curry. The soup, which riffs on a Japanese frying technique, is peerless. And, as for the spicy boar? Well, based on my one sampling, Sunday, I thought it was marvelous. I have had this dish a couple times at the famed Palms Thai, in Los Angeles, and there is no comparison.

You can rest assured that I will have a translation of the new Thai Menu available as soon as possible.

Regards,
Erik M.

T.A.C. Quick Thai Kitchen
3930 N. Sheridan
773.327.5253
(Closed Tuesdays)

Edited a crazy number of times to fiddle around with photo formatting.

Someone get that man a digital camera, tac quick.

extramsg wrote:Someone get that man a digital camera, tac quick.

Nick, I did link to a picture that I took with my new camera. Unfortunately, I have received word that I didn't format it properly. Oh well, first try, first mistake. I will learn. Maybe one day, one day, I can *wow* them with pictures and pages like yours.

Regards,
Erik M.

Erik:

I stopped in last night for a quick bite on my way home from work. The Wild Boar Curry was just outstanding. A marvelous dish.

I had been so tempted by your mention of it over the weekend that I had to give it a try.

Perhaps irrelevant question: is TAC Quick BYOB? I haven't seen drinks on the menu but I've never seen anyone with bottles on their tables either.

Guess I can make it relevant by pondering what beverage to pair with curried wild boar ...

rien

rien wrote:Perhaps irrelevant question: is TAC Quick BYOB?

Yes.

rien wrote:Guess I can make it relevant by pondering what beverage to pair with curried wild boar ...

You should go ask Chicago Mike.

Erik M.

I went to TAC a few months ago with a nice bottle of Alsatian riesling so I think it's safe to say it is BYO. They supplied glasses. I don't remember if there was a corkage fee, but I don't think so...

Coincidentally, I have an Alsatian Riesling at home I was contemplating taking there.

Perhaps irrelevant question #2: what are the traditional alcoholic beverages of Thailand, if any? With all the interesting fruit and, of course, rice, I'm sure some of it has been fermented. The only thing I've come across references to is Thai Beer, but I assume that's a relatively recent arrival - i.e. 20th century.

rien

When we were in Thailand, we constantly saw the following at tables of diners:

Over-flowing ice buckets

A bottle (or 3) of Mekon "Whiskey"

It always looked like they were enjoying themselves thoroughly, but we would never partake because we were told repeatedly not to trust the ice in Thailand. So, I never tried the Mekon whiskey, but I understand it is more like rum (sugar based) than whiskey (i.e., grain based).

I have never seen Mekon whiskey on a menu in the USA and the only time I have ever seen a bottle here is the Bangkok restaurant on Halsted, at that was many years ago.

A while back certain folks maligned the ample use of hard liquor like bourbon at chowhound events, but I think that not only does bourbon and other hard liquors go very well with Asian food, it is actually very much in the spirit of what happens "over there".

That said, both wine and beer can go well with Thai food, although obviously certain wines will be overwhelmed. While Alsaciatian and German wines are often tauted for Thai food, I very much like sauvagnon blanc based wines as I find "sour" wines go very well with the sourness in Thai food. Our meal at Arun's was very, very average, but the bottle of Sancerre we had with the dinner was very, very good (and well priced).

Rob

rien wrote:Perhaps irrelevant question #2: what are the traditional alcoholic beverages of Thailand, if any? With all the interesting fruit and, of course, rice, I'm sure some of it has been fermented. The only thing I've come across references to is Thai Beer, but I assume that's a relatively recent arrival - i.e. 20th century.

Beer, for example, Signha, has been around for, at least, sixty years.

There are various kinds/grades of both Thai whisky and rum.

Lao khao, or "white liqour," if of the legal variety, is made from sticky rice, and is commisioned by the Government. There are various illegal varieties of lao khao that are made from God knows what all--palm sap, tubers, etc.

Generally, distilled spirits are taken with food, and a specific set of foods, at that. Kap Klaem are "drinking foods," and they tend to be very assertive in character. The idea, here, being that they stand up better to the dulling effects of liquor on the palate. These include things like muu ping, yam muu yaw, thua thawt, and thawt man plaa.

Traditionally--and I have some Thai friends, here in Chicago, that are big on upholding tradition--bottles of alcohol are ordered for the table. The practice of individually ordering drinks is a relatively new phenomena. Of course, with bottle service, it is expected that the bottle be finished, at table.

Wine? Thailand is participating in the world-wide trend, and it seems to be getting increasingly popular. I remember reading recently about a couple of notable Thai wines that are on the available on the market.

Erik M.

Well, just because beer might be a relatively recent phenomenon in SE Asia (though I'd guess 19th C), doesn't mean it's not traditional. Beer first became popular in Mexico during the later 1800's, pho and ban mi are widely understood to be products of the French occupation of Vietnam, etc.

Singha is arguably the best Asian beer and has like 2/3 of the market in Thailand. Otherwise, folks seem to drink rice whiskey (like the infamous Mekong).

Wine consumption is one glass per capita per year. According to

http://www.a2zpattaya.com/m0302.htm

Excellent rundown on the alcohol issue.

Irrelevance has its virtues!

rien

I'm taking my gf and her brother in law to TAC tonight and I have a question. He is sensitive to sesame oil. (violently, if he gets a whiff of it he is off his food and gets very ...unhappy) I don't recall it in particular but can someone enlighten me as to whether sesame oil is even used in Thai cooking or if there are certain things we should avoid ordering!

Octarine wrote:I'm taking my gf and her brother in law to TAC tonight and I have a question. He is sensitive to sesame oil. (violently, if he gets a whiff of it he is off his food and gets very ...unhappy) I don't recall it in particular but can someone enlighten me as to whether sesame oil is even used in Thai cooking or if there are certain things we should avoid ordering!

Octarine:

Lucantonius, son of Amata and this writer, joined us for a meal at TAC some time back (and a wonderful meal it was, at least for the grown-ups). Lucantonius has a tree-nut allergy and, despite eating nothing but plain rice and a couple of bites of Thai fried chicken, he got quite ill on the way home and had a full-blown and rather distressing bout with all the bad symptoms. We have since wondered whether the fried cashews that garnish many dishes may have been fried in the same oil that the chicken was fried in and that this was the cause of the problem. Be that as it may, your friend should beware and I would advise calling them and checking carefully about the treatment of any and all potentially offending substances. Erik might also have some relevant information in this regard.

Antonius

*P.S. At the time that the above described incident occurred, we were still in the process of figuring out what Lucantonius' allergy problem was.

It's not so much an allergy as an aversion to the taste. e.g. when I ordered steamed sole from Sun Wah he hated it and made life miserable by pouting the whole night. That's what I'm trying to avoid. He can eat nuts and has no major alleries afaik.

Antonius wrote:Lucantonius, son of Amata and this writer, joined us for a meal at TAC some time back (and a wondeful meal it was, at least for the grown-ups). Lucantonius has a tree-nut allergy and, despite eating nothing but plain rice and a couple of bites of Thai fried chicken, he got quite ill on the way home and had a full-blown and rather distressing bout with all the bad symptoms.

As the host of said ocassion, I am somewhat distressed to learn of this only now.

Antonius wrote:Be that as it may, your friend should beware and I would advise calling them and checking carefully about the treatment of any and all potentially offending substances. Erik might also have some relevant information in this regard.

As I think Antonius has suggested, it is incumbent upon you to communicate directly with the kitchen. I will add that this means with Andy. Do not accept anything less. I cannot proffer any better advice.

Regards,
Erik M.

Erik M. wrote:As the host of said ocassion, I am somewhat distressed to learn of this only now.

Erik:

It was certainly no fault of yours nor of the restaurant and, as I said, we were still trying to figure out in that period what L's allergies are. As it is, we were careful in what we let him eat and still there was a problem that couldn't be foreseen without the knowledge we now possess.

Incidentally, the lag time between referral from pediatrician to earliest possible date with the allergy specialist was several months!!! In part, this likely has to do with the absurdities of the health-care system as a whole but also reflects the explosion in such food allergies in recent years. In times gone by, allergies to peanuts and tree-nuts were very rare and now they grow increasingly common at alarming rates. Why this is so seems not to be known, but it strikes me as something that it behooves us as a society to figure out forthwith.

A

yet again, a failed attempt to dine @ Stick Rice. called @ 9pm, no one answered. cest la vie.

So back to TAC Quick we go!!!

tried stuff on the 'new menu' again.

Green Curry w/ hand formed fish paste balls. the old sour curry cha-om omelette, and a lahd nar (sp, my bad) w/ squid and chicken. best $25 meal i've had so far this year (granted it's only 1/15/05..). dropped eric's name /menu translation/CH website, and got super dooper servoce. i coulda skipped the sour cha-om omelette tho... unbelievably, we didn't get charged for rice. OMIGAWD!!! can I get a hallelujah?

I'd be content if, for the rest of my 1.5 year stay here in Chicago, there exists no Thai restaurant but TAC.