I went to Spoon Thai today for lunch with Andy (TAC Quick). We started the meal with...

sâi kràwk isãan: grilled Isaan-style pork and rice sausage, served with chile, ginger, and peanuts



It had a wonderful sour taste to it. It was my first time trying this dish and I told Andy that I want to make a comparison to his version next week.

Next we had...

khaw mũu yâang: grilled pork neck strips with a savoury sauce





The pork neck was delicious and tender, but I must admit that I enjoy TAC Quick's version more. The sauce was flavorful.

Our first main dish was...

nãem khâo thâwt: deep-fried rice salad with Northern Thai-style "pressed ham"



Andy picked this one. I never had deep-fried rice before, but it added a nice texture to the meal. The pressed ham was soft and the dish had a good spice to it.

Lastly, I wanted to add some seafood to the meal since I recently got back from Portland (ME), so I ordered...

kaeng sôm plaa châwn phàk ruam: thin, sour curry with Monkfish and vegetables





WOW! My favorite dish of the meal. This was my first time having monkfish and the curry was very spicy (just the way I like it) with no coconut milk. It was easy to separate the meat from the bones.

As you can see, I had no problem finishing off this dish!

Hi,

Had Andy been to Spoon Thai before?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Had Andy been to Spoon Thai before?

Regards,

Yes. Andy likes to visit other Thai restaurants when he is not working, which is Tuesday and Sunday lunch. I always ask him for recommendations at other places and he was happy to tag along on Sunday. It is fascinating to learn how strong of a community there is for the Thai populace in Chicago. It seems like Andy knows everyone and their history. If you get a chance to visit TAC Quick during lunch time, sometimes you see workers at other local Thai and Japanese restaurants (Cozy's, Joy's, Fresh, etc.) inside eating for authentic fare.

Supposedly Irving Park road has two Thai Karaoke spots on the far west side and you will catch many of the local restaurant workers and owners there at night.

FWIW, back in the First Golden Age of LTH, Eric and others collectively determined this fish is the "dreaded" snakehead a/k/a mudfish. If they are using an expensive critter such as monkfish at Spoon, terrific. But, commercially available monkfish are bigger and look quite different from what one gets at Thai places (including Spoon) as plaa chawn. I order from Spoon at least weekly, often twice. I think we're talking snakehead or a similar fresh-water fish here.

I use "dreaded" above b/c the fish is off limits (live) in certain states as an invasive species -- similar to that other Thai favorite ong choy/hollow veg/water spinach/swamp cabbage/morning glory.

JeffB wrote:similar to that other Thai favorite ong choy/hollow veg/water spinach/swamp cabbage/morning glory.

Ong choy is Morning Glory? That counts as my something new learned today.

Not sure that it is "really" morning glory, but it often is so identified on Thai menus, particularly in LA.

Jeff

PS, I now see that "morning glory" describes 1000 different vine-y flowering plants, including ong choy. I was also interested to see the gaudy species of morning glory that grows on fences and walls in FL the way ivy grows in Chicago and to confirm what I thought were Cuban wives-tales about the plant's hallucinogenic properties. I had heard many stories of people close to the earth brewing tea from the flowers, a la hibiscus, but with trippy results. So it's true, and the Aztecs used the stuff as well....

TAC Crazy wrote:Andy likes to visit other Thai restaurants when he is not working

Besides Spoon, what are those "other Thai restaurants," exactly?

Getting my WWAD bracelet ready...

chezbrad wrote:

TAC Crazy wrote:Andy likes to visit other Thai restaurants when he is not working

Besides Spoon, what are those "other Thai restaurants," exactly?

Getting my WWAD bracelet ready...

Andy seems to know the owners of the Western Ave mainstays (Sticky, Spoon, Aroy, etc.) extremely well. He is very knowledgeable about their menus, history of ownership and cooking style. However, he seems to know everyone when I bring up a specific Thai restaurant. I imagine it is hard for him to visit new places because he is only off on Tuesday.

Outside of Thai, I do know Andy is great friends with the owners of Green Tea (loves their sashimi) and Fresh Sushi (loves their maki). He also really likes the scallops at Rustico Grill and grilled tuna at Tiny Lounge. I recommend asking him questions about some of his favorite spots. I always find it fascinating to learn where Chefs go to eat on their free time and Andy is pretty open about this stuff if you ask him.

I took a crew of first time visitors and a $25 restaurant.com coupon to Spoon Thai last night. Apparently they've invested in new, very elegant menus and the Thai menu is at the back. As always the service was attentive and quick.

I've yet to order a bad item from the Thai menu. The highlights last night were the mussel omelettes and lime-mayo chicken. The sweet-and-sour mango chicken was an interesting and complex dish that surprised many at the table. And this was the first time I'd ordered the tom kha at spoon, and it was the best I've ever had. Full of rich coconut and galangal flavor, it was the perfect warm-you-up antidote to the pouring rain outside. And to top it all off the mango with coconut sticky rice is a can't miss dessert. My wife always wonders why we can't find such sweet and soft mangoes at the store.

As an aside, per the recommendation of REB and RAB, we brought along a trio of Flanders Red Ales. The mix of sweet yet acidic beer was an excellent complement to the meal. My personal favorite was the Rodenbach Grand Cru, but the table leaned more towards the sweeter Duchesse de Bourgogne.

Rodenbach is my favorite "food beer." I wish it were more widely available. (And I wish Publican would resume serving it with the proper glass.)

Double Spoon post tonite! Ordered in last night solo (celebrating the $300 I got for opening two checking accounts at Chase yesterday--talk about good coupon deals!!!) and went with a couple of favorites (nãem khâo thâwt: deep-fried rice salad with Northern Thai-style "pressed ham" and the Issan sausages) and one new dish for me--the shrimp and lemongrass salad with chilis.

Then tonite, significant other wanted Italian so we were on our way to Calos (one of the 4 restaurants in town that he'll go to without fuss) and there was a wait (unacceptable to SO) so back in the car we went. As we were driving he asked if I'd mind eating Thai again and I said fine as long as we could go to Spoon (he hasn't been--NEW RESTAURANT ALERT). Stars were aligned because there was no wait and before i knew it, a plate of mussel omelette and another of ma ma noodle salad were before me. SO was happy with the only dish he'll order--red curry chicken. Everyone home now, happy and full. And to think I would probably NEVER have found this place without LTH

OK, so I've read the thread and taken notes, but a specific question: I am fighting a head cold that just will not leave, and I am looking for something really spicy to blow it away. Normally I err on the less-spicy side of things, so I have no idea what to get. Any suggestions?

Inspired by the recent activity on this thread and a visit from friends who live in L.A., we decided to have lunch at Spoon earlier this week. It turned out to be a great call. Every course of our lunch was tremendous; bursting with bright and intense flavors and fresh-tasting beyond even our appropriately high expectations . . .


Papaya Salad



Thai Fried Chicken



Issan Sausage



Naem Khao Thawt



Pad Kra Prao



Pork Neck Larb



Banana Blossom Salad



Salad with Preserved Egg

There wasn't a dish in the progression that wasn't delicious. More times than not, I end up at TAC but with the recent posts on this thread, I'd been thinking a lot about Spoon and lamenting the fact that I don't go there more often. I'm so glad we went and our friend was really pleased, too. What a great way to make a Monday wonderful!

=R=

I was at Spoon last night, hadn't been since last winter, and they were firing on all cylinders--a stupendous meal. We had all favorites: the one-bite salad, mushroom salad, fried chicken, catfish-coconut milk custard and pork neck larb. The fried chicken, in particular, was excellent--succulent with just the right amount of crispy bits. I'm very eager to go back and do it all again.

HI,

I have noticed the one bite salad often comes without dried shrimp now. Apparently someone complained, because Wanna will only add them upon request. I like the salty sea element the dried shrimp offer and miss it when it is not there.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I have noticed the one bite salad often comes without dried shrimp now. Apparently someone complained, because Wanna will only add them upon request. I like the salty sea element the dried shrimp offer and miss it when it is not there.

I agree. The dried shrimp would be welcome regardless, but I miss it especially since the one-bite salad is too heavy on the coconut for me. However, I didn't quip last night since the dish was a novelty for my companion, so it was fun seeing her enjoy it.

Good timing. A few weeks ago, my wife had lunch at Spoon. She was not particularly happy with the meal, and named the one bite salad as one of the main culprits for her unhappiness. She said it "was all sweet." Wish I could have told her to ask for the dried shrimp.

Anyways, not convinced that Spoon was as mediocre as her described meal, we had lunch there yesterday. And, well it was not mediocre, but it was very mixed. The shrimp and lemongrass salad was stellar, and the fried chicken was just as expected, but another salad, the one with ground pork and pork skin tasted off (as in not as fresh), and the garlic noodle chicken on the special board tasted more like strip mall Chinese. To make due, we got dessert, and that just hurt the cause as the chewy balls in the bu-lawh (ph sp) were undercooked.

I'm certainly not gonna write this place off, but I'd also like a bit more consistency.

Vital Information wrote:the garlic noodle chicken on the special board tasted more like strip mall Chinese.

That dish makes a frequent appearance on the Specials board at Spoon. It's a definite exception to the "rule" about stuff on the board at Thai places being good. It's rather nauseatingly sweet, with little else to balance it.

Kennyz wrote:

Vital Information wrote:the garlic noodle chicken on the special board tasted more like strip mall Chinese.

That dish makes a frequent appearance on the Specials board at Spoon. It's a definite exception to the "rule" about stuff on the board at Thai places being good. It's rather nauseatingly sweet, with little else to balance it.

And it was on the ErikM list of translations too, two signals of orderworthiness. The only other thing on the menu in similar standing (that I know) is the lime chicken. These dishes must have some type of weird apppeal to some(one).

There's definitely a strain of sweet, one-dimensional "Chinese" dishes within the Thai food vocabulary that is perplexing to non-Thais (me included) who appreciate the sour, funky, blistering aspects of the cuisine. Authentic isn't always good, even among the great cuisines. See, e.g., Mexican candy.

JeffB wrote:There's definitely a strain of sweet, one-dimensional "Chinese" dishes within the Thai food vocabulary that is perplexing to non-Thais (me included) who appreciate the sour, funky, blistering aspects of the cuisine. Authentic isn't always good, even among the great cuisines. See, e.g., Mexican candy.

True. In fairness I think many of us (myself include) are "guilty" of a western mindset when we order things like this. By that I mean that we view these dishes as "entrees" or "appetizers" instead of as a single component among a wide assortment of dishes that make up the meal. By itself, that garlic noodle dish is probably not supposed to taste anything close to balanced, but perhaps if you order "properly" and alternate bites of garlic noodle with bites of something salty and sour, with spoonfulls of rice, broths, and crunchy salads further balancing things out, it all works well.

There have been some changes at Spoon Thai recently. First there were the new menus. They're a lot heavier and decorative than they used to be and they conveniently include the Thai-language menu at the back. They've also updated their website to include all of their menu items and upgrade the interface. They've also invested in nice new goblet-looking cups for wine and funky fish-shaped plates.

But most notable, I think they've changed their chef and somehow the food is even better than before. My most recent visit included a mussel omelet that was crispier and more full of mussels and the fried butterfly fish that was more moist. Also, for the first time we tried the soft-shell crab in curry sauce that had a spongy crust that provided great texture and density to the crab. I've enjoyed every trip I've taken to Spoon, but my last visit was easily my best to date. Maybe it was just an "on" night, or maybe they've hired a new chef who is preparing the same old dishes even better than before. Either way, Spoon is putting out some seriously great Thai food.

turkob wrote:But most notable, I think they've changed their chef and somehow the food is even better than before. My most recent visit included a mussel omelet that was crispier and more full of mussels

Don't know about a new chef, but mussel omelet was the shining star of a recent stellar lunch.

Vital Information wrote:Good timing. A few weeks ago, my wife had lunch at Spoon. She was not particularly happy with the meal, and named the one bite salad as one of the main culprits for her unhappiness. She said it "was all sweet." Wish I could have told her to ask for the dried shrimp.

As big a fan as I am of Spoon (I moved to be within walking distance of the place, after all), I tend to agree with Sheila on this. Even ordering it with dried shrimp I have found that the more recent versions of the meang kam that I have had there have been unbalanced, with dramatically more coconut than in the previous iteration. Perhaps the coconut is sweeter as well.

Spoon Thai used to be assured of a weekly visit from me, but lately I've been trying to branch out a little bit and hadn't been there for nearly a month. But last night's dinner was so damn good I don't think I could last another month without another meal there.

What we ate:

Catfish curry custard - this was as good as ever -- and as good as any version I tried in Thailand -- with a great balance of flavors, great texture and a generous dose of heat.

Isaan-style sausage - excellent as usual and pleasantly sour (though I'd prefer it even more sour). I'd also prefer it if they served it with a little garlic and Thai bird peppers, but at least it was accompanied by the usual ginger and peanuts.

Boat noodles - this wasn't as big a hit for me as the other dishes. Don't get me wrong, it was good and very flavorful - particularly the star anise - but I think it could have used a little more sour, the heat was slightly missing (as much our fault though) and I prefer the noodles to be served with more than just sliced beef. Again, still good but when done just right this dish is better.

Shrimp paste fried rice with sliced green apples, pork and egg - Sure, I'd love this dish if they made it with green mango (for more sourness), but this is still one of my favorite dishes at Spoon and last night's version did not let us down.

Pork neck larb - delicious as always.

Banana blossom salad - also delicious as always. I do think they make it slightly sweeter (and a little wetter) than you might find in Bangkok, so I'd suggest ordering it "phet phet" (spicy) to overcome the sweetness, but that's just me. FYI - for anyone trying to duplicate this dish, they do sell fresh banana blossoms at Golden Pacific Market on Broadway.

Thin tamarind curry with shrimp - just the perfect balance to the sweet and savory dishes ordered. Pungently sour, spicy and perhaps a soup more appropriate for a cold Chicago evening, but still it might have stolen the show last night.

Mango and sticky rice - the perfect mango, just the right amount of coconut cream, and enough salt to bring it all together.

This was really a great meal - it probably won't be another month before I return to Spoon.

Hate to mention that I had a very sub par meal here last wk. I've had many excellent meals here but overfried chix and mealy pork neck that was very grainy (perhaps over marinated) were enough to put me off. The sausage wasn't it's usual funky self as well. When asked by the owner (so then mentioned by us) it was ignored and charged for in spite of barely picked @ plates. Not per norm here but with Aroy, TAC, Rosedad and Sticky Rice pretty much always hitting it out of the park, I'll find it hard to walk through these doors again anytime in the near future. Very much seemed as if she didn't give a damn (we all felt this way).

Jazzfood wrote: Very much seemed as if she didn't give a damn (we all felt this way).

I had the same impression the last time I was here. When I flagged her down to ask why we had been waiting 50 minutes for our entrees on a night when the place was half full, she looked at me as if I was from outer space and then walked away, not bothering to share my concern with her staff. The tables around us had much shorter waits between courses, and we hadn't ordered anything unusual.

@Jazzfood: disappointed to hear about your experience at Spoon. I've had off experiences at Spoon, but not that many and none as bad as you've described. On a side note, there are many house made Thai sausages in town. Personally, while I've always enjoyed Spoon's, I've never found it to be very funky and I'm not sure it's intended to be.

On the other hand, Sticky Rice "mostly always" hitting it out of the park? I wish I could find that Sticky Rice . . . the one I know is maddeningly inconsistent, outstanding maybe 20% of the time, but unfortunately a disappointment more often than that in my book.

Admittedly, Sticky Rice is more in my past. Going on memories more than recent encounters. Just have a hyper sensitivity to inconsistency and poor attitudes. Really believe it kills restaurants. @ least for me.

I was at the Spoon Thai lunch with jazzfood and I've got to agree with what he posted. Every single dish was off (and we ordered a pretty good cross section). Some dishes were downright bad, like the fried chicken and pork neck. The saddest part of the whole experience was that Wanna, the owner, really didn't seem to care at all, even when things like the nearly burnt and uneaten fried chicken were pointed out to her (she left it on the bill, too). Comparing what we were served to the great pictures in this thread, you'd never believe that this was the same restaurant. Sadly, I'd say it's time for a downhill alert on Spoon Thai, formerly one of my favorite Thai restaurants in the city.