Thai Pastry & Restaurant

This is all very subjective and I'm far from an expert on Asian cuisine, but after much sit-down and take-out this past summer and fall in the Argyle/Broadway quarter--including large quantities of pho and BBQ--when I return to the neighborhood this spring, the first place I'll enter is the restaurant below and order their Kuchai (chive dumplings #10) and their special roast duck entree (#71).



Thai Pastry & Restaurant
4925 N. Broadway
773-784-5399

I simply loved my experience at this restaurant. I was only inclined to visit due to an Entertainment book coupon I used for a free entree.

For dessert, I ordered their version of "fried ice cream," which was a large scoop of vanilla ice cream encased in a crispy fried wonton or rice paper...and drizzled with chocolate and powdered sugar. It was okay...surely there may be even better desserts to end the meal with.

The decor was a bit odd - their citrus lime walls clashed with their old school asian art and handicrafts.

Overall, great food and clean. Will go again soon!

Have things changed there recently? I used to really enjoy eating at Thai Pastry and then suddenly the place went downhill and I mean really downhill. To give an example, a friend ordered Pad Thai which was served, I kid you not, with burned (as in charred black) noodles with no tamarind sauce. Another time a friend's entree was served while I sat and waited for mine. After my friend finished his meal I told them I didn't want mine and they seemed offended. Needless to say they didn't comp me my iced tea.

I admit, these are the worst examples but there were many smaller problems with the place but we kept returning because of our long history with the place. But after 4 or 5 meals of declining food and service quality we knew it was time to give up when they served us the burnt pad thai. If both the cook and the server didn't notice the blackened noodles and the absence of tamarind sauce we knew that future trips would be pointless.

Since I tried Thai Avenue I've never given a second thought to going back to Thai Pastry when I'm looking for Thai on Argyle. Did you try Thai Avenue? I can't believe Thai Pastry was better but things change do I guess.

I used to live across the street from Thai Pastry... about 3 years ago... I am not much of a Thai fan, but everything I ever had there was great. Including dessert...

Because of the stellar reviews this place has recieved from various media sources, I've tried it. Tried it and then tried it again after some new praise.

And you know what? I've never had a meal that's been that good. A few good dishes here and there, but nothing on the level of Spoon or Thai Avenue. Still, as you say, taste is subjective. Not everyone else likes Guatamalan fried chicken like me either.

Rob

Thai Pastry is basic "Ameri-Thai" cuisine, IMO.... well-prepared for what it is, just not a real authentic Thai seasoning.

Much more authentic is the nearby Thai Avenue, just a few doors away.

Or take a 5 minute cab ride or the red line down to the Sheridan stop for TAC Quick, another brilliant and authentic Thai place.

Had takeout from Thai Pastry tonight - first time. I am by no means an expert on Thai, but I am a frequent eater at TAC and Spoon, and lived in Cambodia for a while where I ate tons of Thai food.

The woman and I had fish cakes (with a side of chile fish sauce), Penang curry with shrimp (extra hot) and pad ke mao (wide noodles with brocolli, basil, chile, tomato, sprouts).

Everything was great. The woman complained that the curry was a bit sweet, but it didn't seem sweeter than what I've had elsewhere. I really appreciated that they took our request for spicy seriously - the penang curry was loaded with long slices of green chile, the only vegetable in the entire dish. Also welcome were thin slices of keffir leaf in the curry, yielding wonderfully fragrant bursts of flavor here and there. Ameri-thai? thai-thai? I don't friggin know, but it tasted great.

Fish cakes were fish cakes - chewy (wtf do they put in those things, fish heads and cartilage? I sure as hell hope so!!!), nothing exceptional other than that they were fried to a deep deep brown, giving them a great burnt flavor that I liked. The gf's knowledge of thai food got us a side of chile laced fish sauce that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. It's essential, much better than the sweet cucumber salad they give with the fish cakes - ask for "prik nam pla."

The noodles were great. Definitely had the breath of wok that proper cooking temperature imparts in stir fries - remarkable smokey flavor. Not greasy, and not drenched in corn starch gravy in the least. Not the most esoteric of thai dishes, but deep flavor, great execution. Whats not to like?

It looks like this place doesn't get much LTH love, but it does enough business that I don't need to boost it. More than anything I just want to know what people think of the place...

The menu has some interesting items that are out of the ordinary for most thai places, but seem pedestrian compared to Spoon. Anyone know anything about a thai menu? I did takeout so obviously I did not ask.

Try the roast duck special. It remains over the years one of the better take-out dishes I've had in the area. Now that Sun Wah does such a great job with Beijing duck, I can no longer claim it's the most succulent duck within walking distance of Argyle and Broadway, but it's still an excellent selection.

I am glad to see this post because this is one of my favorite Thai restaurants in the city. Always great food and very fresh ingredients.

I recommend, if you can, coming in for lunch if you like standard Thai fare. They have their full menu available, but ordering off the lunch menu is a great bargain. I have not been here in a few months, but in the past at lunch time they included small soup, mini appetizer, main course, and a desert. Just a great, low risk way to see if you like the food here.

As yet another side note, their spring rolls, in my opinion, are the best.

Trying to be agreeable, RAB and I joined another couple for dinner tonight at Thai Pastry.

The best dish of the evening was the chicken larb, with a nice tang. The roast duck and the tom yum soup were both okay. The duck was chewy and a bit dry, but was accompanied by tasty greens and broccoli. The soup was fine. The Pad Kee Mao with tofu was rather flavorless, but edible with sufficient sambal. The chive dumplings and lime chicken were both pretty bad. The dumplings were gummy, pastey, and bland. The lime fried chicken was dry and not a bit crispy.

We tried to order the clams, but were dissuaded by the server, who scrunched her face and shook her head several times, emphasizing that it was an unwise choice. We trusted her.

Too bad TAC Quick wasn't open.

I've walked past Thai Pastry on Broadway many times. Never entered. Too much other culinary gold near-by. Besides the name puts me off. "Pastry" does not equal meal or savory delights -- to me it denotes bakery.

Still, and despite the mixed reports above, I was very excited to see this this morning, on Lawrence Ave just West of Harlem, nearly across the street from the Casa de Ramons:


I called the original Thai Pastry to make sure they were involved but I failed at communication, and was told to call back when the owner was in. I forgot.

I'm spoiled. I'm ever disappointed by Thai food from anything but Spoon, Tac, or Sticky. Still I hope for a place that serves at least decent Thai food in my hood. Hope springs eternal and I will report to on findings.

-ramon

Ramon wrote:I've walked past Thai Pastry on Broadway many times. Never entered. Too much other culinary gold near-by. Besides the name puts me off. "Pastry" does not equal meal or savory delights -- to me it denotes bakery.

Still, and despite the mixed reports above, I was very excited to see this this morning, on Lawrence Ave just West of Harlem, nearly across the street from the Casa de Ramons:


I called the original Thai Pastry to make sure they were involved but I failed at communication, and was told to call back when the owner was in. I forgot.

I'm spoiled. I'm ever disappointed by Thai food from anything but Spoon, Tac, or Sticky. Still I hope for a place that serves at least decent Thai food in my hood. Hope springs eternal and I will report to on findings.

-ramon

I suppose the answer to my question resides in the very picture I posted, to wit, Thai Pastry II. I finally noticed this when the tenant panel went up a couple weeks ago. And then the signage, all with an obvious II. I finally concluded that this establishment shares ownership with the Broadway location, when I peeked hungrily in the window and noticed a similitude in the strange orange wall paint.

Well, they opened on Wednesday, with a whole host of framed articles and awards hanging in the front window. Bit presumptious on the first day, perhaps. I finally had time to pick up lunch there yesterday.

I ordered chicken satay (cause I had a taste for peanut sauce) and panang shrimp (a good dish for me to evaluate the place, since I make this at home from scratch).

The chicken satay was perfectly acceptable. I would have wished for a more complex peanut sauce.

The panang was skimpy on vegetables and shrimp but the broth was perfect, and I slurped it greedily with the steamed rice.

The meal was overpriced, but I am not complaining. This was a good Thai meal that I would have to travel much further to get.

Today Mrs Ramon and I returned for lunch again. It is a pleasant room, approx 18 four-tops, and one large round table with the lazy susan spinning thingy in the center. The walls had some interesting art. Sunlight poured in through the windows.

Mrs Ramon ordered the vegetarian egg rolls:


I don’t like Thai eggrolls, and further dislike vegetarian eggrolls, so I did not taste (I don’t like those rubbery noodles in there). Mrs Ramon said they were excellent.

I ordered the steamed mussels:


These were quite good in a delicious citrus, fishy-tasting broth. Or at least that’s what the Mrs thought – I plum forgot I don’t like mussels. Mollusk dementia.

Mrs Ramon ordered the pad Thai with shrimp:


I ate this, though this is not a dish I would order. As usual, it was too sweet. Still there was some nice complexity and it was fresh. Mrs Ramon said the only pad Thai she can remember being better was from TAC.

Service was good, despite the expected language barriers. We will return and are happy to finally have a decent Thai place in the neighborhood.

Thai Pastry II
7350 W. Lawrence (~2 blocks west of Harlem)
Harwood Heights
708-867-8840

Nb: This is one of the more interesting strip malls in the area for prepared food including, Mexican, Filipino, Italian, Polish, Chinese, and now Thai. What a country!

-ramon

Just opened, thrilled to have a Thai place in the neighborhood. No website or address posting up that I could find. It is on the 7300 block of Lawrence, in a strip mall across from Biago's. I spoke to someone who ate there and said it passed, would not elaborate. Has anyone else had an opportunity to visit?

Hiya diane,

You did not look very far down

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5911

I think you will like the place.

-ramon

oops, thanks for the tip.

Is there, in fact, any pastry currently at either location?

Santander wrote:Is there, in fact, any pastry currently at either location?

Yes, at both locations. I'm not much of a dessert person, but I will snap a couple pics. They are in a display case at both locations. Both cookies, and cookie like things, and small decorous cakes.

-ramon

I just tried Thai Pastry last week with another LTHer, more or less randomly as we had another reason to be on Argyle, and was generally pretty happy with what we had, standards executed well if not revelatory. A green curry had the appropriate amounts of tart galangal flavor and the like, a basil chicken dish, the sort of thing that often gets sweetened up, was quite good, and both were plenty hot. Having three of the top Thai restaurants in town between me and there, I don't know that I'll ever be a regular at TP, but it seems a respectable and solid place whose menu might reward some digging into.

Ramon wrote:

Santander wrote:Is there, in fact, any pastry currently at either location?

Yes, at both locations. I'm not much of a dessert person, but I will snap a couple pics. They are in a display case at both locations. Both cookies, and cookie like things, and small decorous cakes.

-ramon

Despite the name of the place, pastry seems almost an afterthought, and there's basically just a case of baked stuff that looks okay but is not exactly gripping. However, my attention was caught by some excellent looking pork jerky in the same case, shiny with an apparently sugary coating, and seemingly delicious. I fantasized about eating it with vinegared rice...

HI,

Thai Pastry has (or had) those great looking mock-fruit candies.

Some years ago, it got a lot of forks from the Trib cheap eats column. I have never been that fond of the place. A friend who swears by this fork thing, won't beleive me you can get better at TAC, STicky Rice or Spoon Thai.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Thai Pastry has (or had) those great looking mock-fruit candies.

They still have those little marzipan sculptures. I bought a box years ago at the late Thai Grocery across the street, but I never ate them. I just looked at them, smiled every time I saw them, and then, eventually, threw them away.

We had dinner there last week and while I thought it had been slipping for awhile, the slide appears complete. Maybe the new location is a distraction.

Specifically the papaya salad was sub-par with wide, too wide, strips of papaya and little else in the salad. We had the steamed fish with ginger sauce - bland and while the fish wasn't "off" it wasn't on, either. After we'd finished the entree, the check appeared. No one had asked for it and we'd wanted dessert. We should have taken the hint. The mango in the mango sticky rice was fine, but the rice must have been made that morning. Maybe we should have sent it back, but at this point, I'd decided to not come back.

I