Nosh Pit

Your Friday in Eating: Lunch at Thai Curry Simple, Dinner at Pau Hana

Have a cultural food kind of day.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Dec 03, 2010 at 09:26AM 0 Comments

A cheap plate of goodness at Thai Curry Simple. Courtesy the restaurant.

The takeout window of Thai Curry Simple, the cheapy I.D. counter with gobsmacking roti, is now open on Capitol Hill, says Slog.

Thai Curry takes over the former Barista Boyz shack at 12 Avenue and East Madison Street (a stone’s throw from Tavern Law). For now hours are Monday-Friday 11am-2pm and weekends 6pm-9pm, reports the blog.

Fill up on $6 curries and $7 gai ping chicken, then make for another Cap Hill newbie, Pau Hana. Tonight the Tenth Avenue restaurant celebrates its grand opening with $5 pupus: kalua pig sliders, sweet-chili chicken wings, pork nachos, coconut shrimp.

Happy Friday.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Capitol Hill, Thai, Lunch, Takeout

New on Broadway: Wedgwood II

The latest Thai restaurant to settle into the 400 block specializes in vegetarian.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Sep 27, 2010 at 08:49AM 0 Comments

Wedgwood II is now open at 420 Broadway.

Another day, another Thai restaurant on Broadway. Wedgwood II is now tricking out tofu for the veg set. The vegetarian canteen, which replaces the short-lived I Love Wasabi, turned on the lights late last week.

Wedgwood joins a cadre of cheapish, local eateries to recently colonize central Broadway—a welcome contrast to the national chains bookending the street. Just a few storefronts down is the Italian eatery Panevino and month-old Pinto Thai Bistro. In the 200 block find Ni Sandwich and the also-vegetarian Highline, which sits across the street from Guanaco’s Tacos Pupuseria.

A sliver of space, Wedgwood is lined with handsome wood design throughout, and in the back, twee 3-D murals of trees add a splash of pizzazz. The menu, several pages deep, averages $10.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Seattle Restaurant Openings, Capitol Hill, Thai

Cheap Date: Naam

Finally! An afforable Thai restaurant hired an interior designer.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Feb 11, 2010 at 09:00AM 2 Comments

Photo courtesy yelp.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Photo courtesy yelp.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Photo courtesy yelp.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

The kee mao noodles.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

God knows there’s no shortage of Thai restaurants in this city. But ones with character, sleek design, ambience—heck, any kind of design scheme? We’ll take more of those, please. Chalk one up to Naam, the newish joint tucked in Madrona’s darling strip of storefronts, for realizing interior can stimulate just as much as four-star-spicy som tam.

Here cushy beds with triangular lumbar pillows line the window wells and take the place of traditional tables. Don’t worry, they’re not of the we’re-in-the-club, Sex and the City–type, but rather cozily re-create the Thai way of eating. A narrow snack bar divides the drinkers from the diners—if the beds are occupied, this is where you want to sit. Though the table space is tight, so much so you bump ’bows with yours truly, it’s great for conversation. Not to mention the ideal spot to catch rousing whiffs from the nearby kitchen.

Slick wood paneling and plush oversized banquettes further the mod and clean styling. Taken as a whole it’s the perfect stage to showcase Naam’s vibrant food, which, given the swank surrounds, is surprisingly down-to-earth and cheap. About three-fourths of the menu is $9.95 or less, and you’re hard-pressed to find a dish costing more than $13. House cocktails are $7, glasses of wine average the same, and beer, $3.75. If you’re in the mood for noodles, try the kee mao, though it’s best with meat and not tofu. The yellow curry also comes highly recommended.

All this yet Naam never loses sight of the down-home charms—an all-too-hospitable (and adorable) wait staff, menus with a bagillion options—that make Thai restaurants so lovable. Looks like Naam has found a winning combo.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Bargain Bites, Cheap Eats, Thai, Cheap Date

Was it Spice Room We Loved…

…or was it Manish?

Posted by: Kathryn Robinson on Feb 08, 2010 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Yummy, isn’t it?

Photo credit here

You’ve heard the buzz about Spice Room, the new Thai-and-then-some joint along the Columbia City strip? Sitting in one of its broad booths within silky mosquito-netting sheers—sky-blue wall on one side, Seattle brick on the other—sucking down a stiff tropical cocktail…this is one joint that whisks you away.

The food? A giddy romp through Thailand, with stops in China and Southeast Asia besides, for a solid tamarind phad Thai, a fragrant garlic-infused deep-fried whole tilapia, a feisty and fathomless tom yum goong soup. The best way to experience it is to place yourself in a waiter’s good hands and let him have his way with you.

Particularly if that waiter is Manish. Gently authoritative, wryly humorous, thoroughly versed in every nuance of every dish, thoughtfully aware of the children’s needs…this guy is a maestro of service. With a few deft questions he sized up our sizable party, made a few suggestions, graciously accepted a few of our tweaks—then presented dish after elegant dish adding up to a stunner of a feast.

With a mystic combination of smarts and intuition he deciphered what we wanted most, then made it happen. “You’ve been a great waiter,” one in our party told him at the end. “Would you consider being my life coach?”

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Tags: Restaurants, Thai, Columbia City, waiters