Thai food, baby!

Okay, so many of you know my very favorite take-out food is Thai. (And my very favorite Thai restaurant is Thai Cuisine in Bloomfield, a cute neighborhood in Pittsburgh.) If you live in Erie you know there is no Thai food to speak of (there used to be Thai fusion at PaperMoon, but that didn't count and besides, they're closed--more's the pity). And that was sad...

...UNTIL NOW!

Located on North Park Row, right next to Catfish Kitchen and just a bit West of Bertrand's, Khao Thai is now open! I think they've been open a couple of weeks now. They have a small eat-in area which is nice and reminds me of a cross between a diner and ethnic food eatery (actually, it reminds me of this little family Greek food place near the Steeler's stadium that caters to the Steeler's croud and so serves spanikopita and also burgers, gyros and a breakfast buffet).

We opted to take-out, as it fits in better with Baby Girl's disposition and schedule. There were 54 items to choose from, including a kid's menu, I should mention. Baby girl didn't partake, but they offer grilled chicken over fried rice, honey marinated flank steak and also rice noodles stir fried with egg in a sweetened soy sauce. It's nice to see a kid's menu in a place like this, although I couldn't tell you if it was any good.

We had poh tak (seafood soup) which had gigantic muscles, scallops, shrimp and calamari in a lemongrass and lime broth. It was very flavorful, with shards of ginger and thai basil leaves. As a soup, though, it was a bit of a challenge, as the broth was so forthright we couldn't have much of it.

We then had bangkok beef, which was highly fragranced slices of flank steak, pan fried and topped with raw ginger. It was melty tender and wonderful, served with pickled vegetables that set off the flavors wonderfully. They reminded us of the pickled ginger you get with sushi.

Finally, we had drunken noodles. I'm not sure what was drunken about them (the menu didn't say) but they were lovely. Big fat rice noodles with basil leaves, onions, a little tomato and a lot of flavor. It was comfort food in anyone's language.

The food was very nice and the service fine, although we ordered a large soup and got a small. That being said, considering the small, we didn't want the large. It wasn't the mind-altering, life-changing experience I'd built it up to be in my head, but it was a very nice meal and I anticipate many more as we work our way through the menu. Give it a try!

Here's the scoop:

Khao Thai Restauraunt
36 North Park Row

454-4069
fax: 454-4096

Free delivery within 3 miles with a $15 minimum purchase

Open Monday through Saturday, 11am until 10pm.