Pad Key Mao at Pongsri Thai
Variety is what New York City sells. You can get basically any type of cuisine in New York. Maybe it won't be authentic, maybe it won't be good, and maybe it's not in Manhattan... but it'll be here. I found myself craving Thai food lately and it wasn't a craving for authentic or even good Thai food... just food that resembled Thai and would go down easily. Sure, one could venture out to Sripraphai in Queens, but that luxury escapes me on lunch breaks. When I found myself on 23rd street the other day, I settled on Pongsri Thai. I couldn't tell you if this stuff was good or if it's authentic. How does a blind person tell a one dollar from a ten dollar bill? I'm the blind man and my tongue is tied on whether the taste is counterfeit currency or the real thing. But I looked on their website and found out the owners have a location in Thailand. That offers up some hope that their restaurant in Thailand is somewhat authentic... but I know this requires a more thorough investigation.
Pongsri Thai in Chelsea is located on 23rd between 6th and 7th avenue. It looks like a popular lunch spot and it was the idea of a lunch special that really made me look at their menu closely. The Pad Key Mao was listed at $6.95 and one could do a lot worse for the area at that price.
The noodles resembled what I recognize as Thai food. There was chicken, red and green bell peppers, Thai basil, and it was all stir fried together nicely. The dish was fragrant and the noodles were soft to the bite. Even though they noodles didn't need anymore hot sauce, I added more since I had already asked the lady for some extra. If I'm the kind of person who notices mysterious three cent charge on a bill, I'm certainly not the type to waste free hot sauce. According to Blondie and Brownie, they'll just make it hotter if you ask for it.
It bothers me that I don't know what exactly constitutes 'good' Thai food, although it seems more important that I enjoy myself than if it's 'good' or 'authentic'. Sometimes you're just stressed out and you food to warm you up and energize you. If there's people who walk into a grimy American-Chinese food hole-in-the-wall and declare that the sweet-n-sour pork to be the best Chinese food ever? How does one place value on an opinion? Besides value, how does one determine truth? I'm not about to declare Pongsri Thai to be good or authentic, although it was a decent lunch special.
Pongsri Thai Restaurant
165 W 23rd St.
New York, NY 10011
212-645-8808
I'm totally jealous of the proliferation of cheap and good lunch specials in NYC. Or maybe I'm just working in the wrong part of London. Yeah, probably that. I want pad kee mao!
Su-Lin
February 17, 2010 7:01 am
@James,
I have been to Pam's Real Thai a couple of times and like it lots. That anchovy rice thing sounds good too so next time I gotta remember that one.
@Aubrey,
Good! I'm glad it looks good to someone else too :)
@kim,
You know, that's the thing that's so hard... like you're sitting in a restaurant and all the food other people are eating looks better... haha
Danny
February 16, 2010 11:39 am
Mmmm, I love pad kee mao so that looks pretty good to me! Luckily Thai food is one cuisine my little College town does well.
Aubrey
February 15, 2010 12:41 pm
I went to the one in Chinatown. Maybe we ordered the 'wrong' dishes, but ours didn't taste as good as the other dishes that passed by us. The fried rice was made with sticky rice (??) And my steamed vegetable dish's portion was so small (for $10), it was laughable. The pad thai looked good though.
kim
February 16, 2010 9:09 am
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Have you tried Pam's Real Thai in Hell's Kitchen? I've been meaning to check it out ever since my old boss insisted that I go there and order "anchovy rice." As a CA native who finds NY Thai a regular letdown, I find nothing about that recommendation not entirely compelling.
James
February 15, 2010 12:25 pm