A Boon to Regional Thai

Duck Larb, Zabb Elee

Talking about the food at the delicious new Nolita restaurant, Uncle Boons, my effusive recollections of dishes has been met more than once with the same question.  “What exactly is Northern Thai food?” 

This is not terribly surprising.  Even as Thai restaurants proliferate across the United States and indeed the world (we once found Thai food in the former German settlement Swakopmund in Namibia!), there is still relatively little knowledge of the regional differences found within the country.  We might know our Pad Thai from our Pad See-ew and our Massaman Curry from our Panang Curry, but do we know how they eat in Phuket versus Chang Mai, or Bangkok versus the Isan territories in the Northeast?

Luckily, a spate of restaurants recently popped up in New York City to try and help us with just this kind of understanding.  Perhaps the most famous of the evangelists of regional Thai cuisine is Andy Ricker, of Pok Pok fame.  I have to admit that even though his former restaurant Ping remains on my list of favorite restaurant memories of Portland, Oregon, I had put off going to his New York outposts until just this past week.  

My mistake.  Somehow I thought a New York version couldn’t come close to what Ricker was doing in his home base.  This is of course, a ridiculous notion given that whether in New York or Portland Ricker is trying to recreate a cuisine from the other side of the world.  And arguably with the ethnic diversity and density of New York, he has better access to hard-to-find ingredients here than just about anywhere.

Ricker’s Pok Pok Phat Thai takes a stab at that Bangkok noodle favorite that has become most associated with cheap and fast Thai food.  The postage stamp-sized restaurant in the Lower Eastside does indeed serve noodles cheap and fast.  But even then, he sticks as close to authentic as possible (sorry, no chicken version, the menu declares).  I picked up one with ground pork and one with shrimp, both pungent with strong notes of tamarind, fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar, minus the cloying sticky sauce that bathes most generic pad thai.  The whole package comes wrapped in a banana leaf, the perfect disposable plate.  If it weren’t for the sub-zero New York temperatures, I could almost picture myself eating these noodles on a plastic chair on some street curb, in the tropical Bangkok night.

One of the last times John and I ate at Zabb Elee in the East Village, we were surprised to run into people we knew from San Francisco. Zabb Elee is far from being on the “hot restaurant” radar for locals let alone out-of-towners.  The white interior tries so hard to be cool that it epically fails in the process.  But where is does succeed is with a series of dishes that speak to the Northern Thai and Isan roots of the owners.  Small, plump Isan sausages are sour and garlicky.  Larb, the minced meat dish popular in Laos and the Northeast of Thailand, is fragrant with mint and lime. If you ask for it “Thai spicy” it might just make you cry.  A favorite dish, crispy pork belly with pickled green peppercorns and tiny thumb sized eggplants is an indulgent, heavenly combination, best eaten with a side of sticky rice.

Last fall welcomed the funnily named Uncle Boon’s to the New York Thai scene.  Concerned that this was some attempt to hipsterize Thai food, again, I put off eating there for quite some time.  A couple weeks ago, however, I found myself in Nolita with friends looking for a place to eat.  We decided to give it a try. 

Uncle Boons is the brainchild of two former Per Se chefs and bears a faint resemblance to other restaurants opened by classically trained chefs who broke away from the staid formality of fine dining to reinvent more casual food, such as David Chang did with ramen at Momofuku. 

At is essence, Uncle Boons feels a bit like the Thai version of an izakaya.  If there was any question what we were in for, the first menu category- “drinking snacks”-offers a solid clue.  Yes, you will be drinking beer (or a perfectly quaffable Monastrelle rose) to wash down the dull burn that builds from the abundant use of chilies.  Chilies feature prominently in a classic Isan dish of larb (on this menu spelled "laab"), here in the form of minced lamb in a rich broth flecked with mint, shallot, and thinly sliced cucumber.  A Crisp Sixpoint pilsner and a side of sticky rice help to neutralize the fire.  An interlude of nam prik pla duuk, a dip made of catfish and chilies served with crisp vegetables and fried pig skin, is a nice respite from the onslaught of heat.

Take friends to Uncle Boons as they’ll likely order something you might not otherwise have tasted.  On my first visit I’m grateful a friend ordered the somewhat dull sounding salad of rotisserie chicken with banana blossoms, cashews, and crispy shallots.  The zest and spice were anything but boring- right now this is vying for “favorite item” in my book.

Meanwhile I gravitated towards the rarely seen blowfish tails on the grilled section of the menu.  Moist and meaty served with an addictive dipping sauce of lime, garlic, and chili, this made for a sweet if not saccharine ending to the meal on both occasions I have dined. 

Sadly Zabb Elee makes a concession to the generic Thai food eaters with a page of “Bangkok Rice and Noodles”.   Even Pok Pok Phat Thai adjusted its stridently authentic philosophy to offer a vegan version of their phat thai, kind of beside the point in my opinion as without the fish sauce it would seem to lose its essence. 

That these restaurants are even options is an enormous development for New Yorkers and those who visit here looking for a taste of regional Thai cuisine.  So what is Northern Thai cuisine?  What is Isan?  To that I say, grab a plate of catfish larb at Zabb Elee and dip into a bowl of nam prik pla duuk at Uncle Boons and that chicken green curry and sticky sweet pad thai you thought was Thai food will soon be a distant memory.

Other places in the United States to find interesting regional Thai cuisine

Lotus of Siam (Las Vegas):  The original pilgrimage for those looking to try out Isan and Northern Thai cuisine.  They still offer a standard menu but turn to the back of expansive book for tastes of fermented Isan sausages and mouth-numbing green chili dip with pork skins. 

Saffron (San Diego): Chef-owner Su-Mei Yu offers up lighter versions of Thai street food both at her noodle-focused restaurant and a rotisserie chicken shop next door.  Stop by during Thai New Year for daily specials rarely seen at American Thai restaurants that are only featured during that one week of the year.

Pok Pok (Portland, Oregon):  Since my favorite Andy Ricker restaurant, Ping, a Thai-Vietnamese streetfood concept, is now closed, the original Pok Pok must take up the mantle of favorite Portland restaurant.  The classics like papaya salad have a well deserved reputation for excellence.  I also found the Khao Soi, a mild curried noodle soup native to the north to be delicious.

Amy Powell is a food and travel writer based in New York City. She is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and the French Culinary Institute. Follow her on Twitter @amymariepowell

New York City: 2 Days, 2 People, $200

Grounded Coffee on Jane St. in the West Village

If you were in New York City sometime in the last week, you are the lucky few.  Crisp, clear mornings; falling yellow leaves; precious fading hours of amethyst daylight; these autumn days are the best days to be in New York. 

As such, I thought I would celebrate autumn, the city, and my 100^th blog on Pho the Love of Food with an imaginary trip to a few of my favorite spots in the city right now.  No doubt one can blow the bank on a single meal in this town, but if you live here, that is not the way of life.  More likely you learn how to eat well, often sharing food with a friend or lover to get the most bang for your food buck. 

So here you have it.  Two days, two people, two hundred dollars to spend eating and drinking in this best of all possible times of year in New York City. 

Day One

I rouse John from his precious slumber sometime around 10:00am with promises of coffee just a short walk from our apartment at Grounded.  We pull up two mismatched chairs to read the New York Times over one extra hot latte with organic skim milk and one Japanese Sencha full leaf green tea.  Once caffeinated, we split a poppyseed bagel, easy on the butter, and one of Grounded’s signature breakfast wraps- a tortilla stuffed with scrambled eggs and turkey sausage then griddled on a Panini press until crisp. ($13)

It is a weekday in this imaginary scenario so we hop the L train to the East Village for the “Duck Bowl Set Lunch” at Momofuku Ssam Bar (not served on weekends).  The sweet, sticky, juicy duck breast and shredded leg served with rice, lettuce cups, scallion pancake and a side of spicy roasted potatoes is almost enough for two people to share.  We throw in an order of duck dumplings for good measure all washed down with oolong iced tea. ($32)

After an afternoon long run on the Hudson River and some shopping for new releases at Book Book on Bleecker Street, John’s getting peckish.  A small order of fries with bourbon dipping sauce and two Belgian beers in courtyard at Vol de Nuit (otherwise known as “The Belgian Beer Bar”) gets us back in a good place.  ($25)

Do I feel any shame in eating regularly across the street from our apartment?  If the food weren’t so damn good at Corsino you’d have every right to call me lazy.  But the Tagliatelle with Pork Ragu and Mint is one of the most satisfying pastas in town.  We share an order of the tagliatelle and a half bottle of Valpolicella then call it a night. ($37)

Day Two

We take our paper over the Chelsea Market to stake out a table before the tour busses arrive.  A latte from 9^th St. Espresso for John ($4) plus an oat scone and almond brioche from Amy’s Bread and one green tea ($12) gets Day Two started on the right foot. 

Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles

It is back to the East Village for lunch.  I’m pretty sure they add crack to the Spicy Cumin Hand-ripped Lamb Noodles because I get the shakes if it has been too many weeks between visits to Xi’an Famous Foods. While I take mine in a rich, soupy broth, John does his dry, or rather, stir-fried in a slick of chili-laced oil.  Our taste buds hum for hours. ($14.50)

We stick around the East Side and catch a movie.  By the time we come out the sun is fading signaling Happy Hour is getting started at Terroir.  We order two glasses of Musar Jeune, Chateau Musar 2010 (Lebanon) and an appetizer of sage leaves with lamb sausage ($20).

On the seven block walk south to Zabb Elee, I’m pretty sure I can smell the duck larb.  It’s calling to me.  Ground duck, shallots, mint, crispy duck skin, lime, scallion, chili.  My mouth is on fire. We wash it down by splitting a Beer Laos before moving on to the next spot. ($17)

We have room for one more beer and maybe a bit more food.  We continue the southward walk to the Lower East Side because there may be no better Asian food for soaking up excess liquor than the Ham Rice Cakes at Yunnan Kitchen.  The hearty bowl of chewy rice disks is tossed with shaved heritage pork and plenty of chili sauce.  It is drinking food with a conscience. We toast our successful two days of eating with an Ommegang Witte and a Victory Prima Pils.  ($23)

Total for the weekend: $197.50.  (Note this doesn’t include tax and tip but I’m pretty sure not everyone would be as inclined to eat or drink quite as much as us.)  I’m not sure eating this good can only be done in New York, but on gorgeous fall days like these, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be doing it. 

Amy Powell is a food and travel writer based in New York City. She is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and the French Culinary Institute. Follow her on Twitter @amymariepowell

DC Food Tour 2012: At Home with Hidden Thai

Pumpkin stewed in coconut at Thai X-ing

Hidden restaurants are all the rage right now- chefs who can’t afford to open storefronts are working out of their own homes, offering invite-only dinners with BYO policies.  But if Thai X-ing is hidden it’s because it chooses to be, not because it cannot afford a space.   It is a restaurant in a house, so covert I would have walked right by the foliage covered façade with the “X-ing” carved vertically into a single wooden beam were it not for John’s nose- he sniffed out our destination several houses before arriving at the discreet front door.

This was Paul and Lisa’s second time eating at Thai X-ing and our first.  The Sunday night vegetarian dinners had first attracted my brother and his meat-free girlfriend.  Learning that the omnivore set menu Monday through Saturday could be adjusted to accommodate vegetarians in a group, Thai X-ing earned its spot as our second destination on DC Food Tour 2012. 

Cucumber soup with sausage stuffing

Papaya salad, Stir fried beef with mint

After walking into the cramped ground floor dining room where neighbors rubbed elbows while jostling to pass plates around the table, we were quickly ushered out and up the wooden stairs to a far more spacious and airy second floor dining room.  The place of honor, a low table with seats ranging from plush footstools to a wooden bench, was waiting for us along with a superb view of street nightlife through the bay window.

Water glasses and utensils were placed in a pile in the table and along with cheap wine glasses at our request.  Knowing the restaurant is BYO, we pulled out several bottles of wine we had brought along.  (Note: some minor moments of amusement were gleaned from this policy.  As we sipped on white Burgundy and French malbec, we tried hard not to stare as our nearest neighbors took a bottle of Yellow Tail Chardonnay very seriously.)

Flounder with lemongrass and basil

When the food started coming it didn’t stop.  First a bowl of cucumber soup we almost dismissed as a pleasant, anodyne starter until an excavation of the large hunk of floating vegetable revealed a meat-filled center.  A plate of green papaya salad was refreshing for a muggy DC night but not as spicy as I would have liked.  Minutes later the heat problem was resolved with a mouth-numbing dish of stir fried beef with a minty zip and chili kick.

About that point we realized that though we had alerted the staff to the vegetarian in our midst, each of the plates brought out at up till then came with some sort of fish or animal product.  This was resolved quickly, not by reducing our portion size on the meat dishes or exchanging one fish dish for a vegetable one, but simply by bringing more food. 

Mango with sticky rice

There were meaty pork knuckles in an aromatic paste of kaffir lime. Flounder steamed in banana leaves was fragrant from a cavity stuffed with lemongrass but was otherwise plain until dipped into the accompanying pungent chili sauce.  For the vegetarian there were wide flat noodles with tofu and large chunks of pumpkin braised in coconut milk.   

Crying mercy, the stealthy staff whisked away the remains of our dinner plates and in their place left one dish of ripe mango and sticky rice.  It was a simple, sweet ending to the sort of basic yet abundant, home-style Thai food I wish I could eat more of outside of Thailand.

As we walked back out into the District night, I leaned a bit harder on John than usual, so full was my belly.  With dish after dish of delicious food placed in front of us I had failed to show restraint.  A mistake, perhaps, because the night was still young: a late night reservation at the Columbia Room and nearly three hours of handcrafted cocktails were still to come. 

Stay Tuned!  DC Food Tour continues with a visit to DC speakeasy, The Columbia Room.

Amy Powell is a food and travel writer based in New York City. She is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and the French Culinary Institute. Follow her on Twitter @amymariepowell

Take-Out Thai. A Love Story.

Eating Thai in Namibia

I had spent time with John on a couple of occasions, always at events related to Room to Read, the charity he founded and I volunteered with in Los Angeles.  Each time, the next day he jetted off to some other part of the world to raise money for the millions of kids in developing countries in need of an education. 

A few days after our second charitable meet-up I received an email.  He was in Europe but would be going home to San Francisco in two weeks.  Would I like to come up from LA for a proper date?  The catch was he was only in San Francisco for 36 hours before leaving again, this time for a big event in Tokyo.  If we were going to have a real date, I would have to coordinate my arrival with his return.  I took a chance, and booked a flight.

The plan was John would arrive a couple hours before me, enough time to get in a quick run, clean up the house, and shower.  In our pre-date emailing he had let me know he’d booked a reservation at one of his favorite little French restaurants in his neighborhood.  It would be very romantic.

I was nervous.  Flying to another city for a first date with someone I barely knew?  There was a first time for everything.  I bought a new sweater, packed a bag, and hoped for the best.  I had little reason to be worried. From what I knew so far, John was great- smart, funny, handsome, athletic, well read, oh, and he was helping millions of kids around the world to have access to a better life through education.   Just that.

My flight landed early and traffic was light.  I texted John- it looked like I would arrive 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

Some drawn out seconds after ringing the doorbell I heard scrambling from up the wooden stairs.  Down came John... in a bathrobe.  Shaving cream all over his face, one hand holding his lip, he opened the door and gave me a tentative hug.  “I’m so sorry,” he said, the red of embarrassment peaking through his shaving cream splotched face.  “I cut my lip while shaving.  Now it won’t stop bleeding!”  In his rush to get ready before my arrival, the doorbell startled him and he’d sliced off a good chunk of his lower lip.

I laughed.  Maybe not the best response, but it worked, John relaxed a bit as I followed him up the stairs to the main room.  Hand still holding a towel on his lip trying to stop the flow of blood, he deftly managed to uncork a bottle of champagne, pour me a glass, and sit me down by the fire in the living room to wait while he finished dressing.

Over the next forty-five minutes we tried everything to get the bleeding to stop- ice, pressure, and finally a Band-Aid.  And through the entire process, I never stopped laughing. And after too long, he stopped being embarrassed and laughed with me.

By the time the bleeding ceased, we had long missed our reservation at the romantic French restaurant.  With just fifteen minutes until it closed we ordered in Thai from a shop down the street.  And there, sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor in front of the fire with plates of Pad See Ew and Spicy Basil Pork, we had our first real date. 

Over two years later and many Thai dinners eaten together all over the world, that is the best, and most unforgettable, first date I’ve ever been on.

Amy Powell is a food and travel writer based in New York City. She is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and the French Culinary Institute. Follow her on Twitter @amymariepowell

Getting Out, and Over the Turkey

Khao Soi Kai at Pok Pok, Portland, Oregon

While the rest of you are dreaming of turkey soup and late night sandwiches, I am fantasizing about an entirely different Day After Thanksgiving experience: eating out.  After a day heavy with starch and sugar, I wake up Friday morning craving anything other than Thanksgiving food- light and luscious sushi, crispy beef tacos, a bowl of fragrant laksa.  The best part is, particularly if you find yourself in a big city on Friday, the restaurants are empty, the usual crowds dispersed to the countryside to be with family or to the mall for Black Friday specials.  Now is the time to eat well, eat ethnic, and eat out.

Tonight, we eat at Nobu Fifty Seven, part of our “Staycation” in New York City.  It is not often you can call Nobu on a Friday night, hours before your desired dinner time and get a table for two no problem. 

I imagine this ease of getting into popular restaurants extends to other big city dining destinations.  If I had found myself in another American metropolis today, here are a few very popular restaurants serving food that is light years away from Thanksgiving cuisine, where you might just be able to snag a last minute table hours before dinnertime.

Ping and Pok Pok, Portland:  My excitement over this Portland-based mini chain of South East Asian themed restaurants can hardly be contained, and I am not alone given the lines that normally form just to get into these two restaurants.  Not specifically true to any one country, the menus span the region taking some liberties with dishes like Vietnamese style chicken wings at the otherwise Thai Pok Pok but ultimately the group of restaurants authentically represent the flavors of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia with even a tip of conical hat to Yunnan, China.  One taste of the Nonya style green beans at Ping, bathed in spicy coconut sauce and sprinkled with fried shallots, and Aunt Susan’s green bean casserole will be a distant memory.

Brasserie Beck, Washington D.C.:  If I was in DC and had some calories to spare after Thanksgiving, I’d head to Brasserie Beck.  This K Street restaurant is typically packed during the week with suits from downtown, but on a holiday weekend I imagine it clears out.  I’d start with a tart Belgian sour ale to cleanse the palate, a welcome change of pace from the flowing red wines of yesterday.  From there I’d move onto a platter of mussels plump and served up in a sizzling cast iron skillet.  Fennel and chorizo would be a bold and flavorful combo particularly nice when paired with a towering cone of crisp fries.  After so many spuds boiled, mashed, and baked, those French fries sure will taste good.

Rivera, Los Angeles:  There may be taco trucks on every corner in Los Angeles, but Latin-themed restaurant Rivera is not of that genre.  At trip to Rivera tonight comes with the benefit of almost no traffic, most people having skipped town earlier in the week, and the chance to leisurely sample from Chef John Rivera Sedlar’s ambitious menu of Latin dishes spanning three continents.  A bowl of posole gets hit with truffle and oregano.  Banana leaf wrapped pork shoulder is done pibil style but cooked à la molecular gastronomists, sous vide.  Rivera is a far cry from the taco stand and even further removed from turkey memories of yesterday.  And the Friday night of a holiday weekend in downtown LA, you might even find street parking. 

Pok Pok, 3226 SE Division Street, Portland, Oregon

Ping, 102 NW 4^th Ave., Portland, Oregon

Brasserie Beck, 1101 K Street NW, Washington, DC

Rivera, 1050 S. Flower St. #102, Los Angeles, CA

Amy Powell is a food and travel writer based in New York City. She is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and the French Culinary Institute. Follow her on Twitter @amymariepowell

Eating Thai in Namibia and Other Surprising Food Finds

Ever play the Chinese restaurant game? John taught me that one. It’s a game we have been playing during our summer travels. The first person to spot a Chinese restaurant on arriving in a new town scores a point. The idea being, that no matter where we are in the world it seems every city, town, and village can lay claim to a Chinese restaurant. To win, we just have to be the person to spot it first.

Finding a good Italian restaurant in Lusaka is not that much different than having a Chinese restaurant sign pop up while driving through the rural cow covered Swiss countryside: both are familiar yet strangely out of place. Though chow mien in Switzerland may not be our thing, sometimes eating the local food can also mean being open to cooking styles half way around the world from wherever we happen to be at that moment.

I initially noted Cai Tai in Swakopmund, Namibia, a Thai restaurant, because the sign was written in English and Chinese. I did not score a point for the sighting as the restaurant turned out to be Thai, not Chinese, but our interest was piqued. This coastal, German town with its Bavarian hotels and brauhaus was not the place I expected to find a Thai restaurant. But after weeks of dinners dominated by large slabs of game meat, the idea of a nuanced Southeast Asian lunch was too attractive to pass up.

Cai Tai was not good African Thai cuisine, it was just good Thai. Inspired by the grey coastal weather, I ordered a soup starter to warm up. No generic tom yum here, instead a bowl of glass noodles mixed with pickled vegetables and bits of ground pork were steeped in a spicy aromatic broth. It was the sort of soup I would want my grandmother to make when I’m sick, if my grandmother were Thai. The mutton came highly recommended by the Bangkok born chef/owner. It was thinly sliced and seasoned heavily with whole cumin seeds and chilies, seared in a wok and tossed with green onions and sliced celery.

Finding unexpectedly good food is part of the pleasure of traveling out of my comfort zone. I could rationalize that my standards are lowered when out of the developing world but no, I am very sure that Portico restaurant in Lusaka, Zambia was excellent Italian food, period. The night in question, a large group of us were asked to choose from a set menu which included a couple of African style meat dishes, a few pastas, or any pizza we might want off the standard list. I went basic, pizza with red sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Basic was delicious.

Judging by the many empty plates, most of these belonging to well traveled folks with good taste, the others in the group were not disappointed by Portico’s version of Italian food either. The pizzas came out thin crust and with just the right amount of char around the edges. The ravioli and tagliatelle were homemade and the sauces were authentic. We may have been eating in Africa, but the food was pure Italian.

Even in Singapore I was treated to a surprise, this one a happy stumble upon a newish Spanish tapas bar in the hip neighborhood of Duxton Hill. Singapore is known to excel in the import of cuisines from around the world but Singaporean food expert Seetoh was the first to admit Spanish cuisine is one area where this famous food city has typically not fared as well.

Sabio immediately impressed with its long, room length bar plated in glass with full view of the cold tapas on offer- a good sign of authenticity even if the black and white chic of the walls and tables suggested more style than substance might be found there. Not every dish was a success- the special of skewered chicken and manchego was still raw in the middle upon cutting into a piece- but the rest succeeded to an extent that even if I didn’t exactly think we were in Barcelona, I could have closed my eyes and would have sworn we were at least somewhere in Western Europe, not Southeast Asia.

The gambas al ajillo came plump and juicy with the sort of wine and garlic sauce that begs more bread in order to wipe clean the dish. The chorizo was spicy and rich and the Iberico jamon tasted of the Spanish highlands. It was not perfect, but it was mostly very good. When I knew there would be no shortage of Asian food to eat during our visit, tapas were a breath of fresh, Espagna air.

After two months of playing Chinese Restaurant, I’m not sure who’s ahead. But if we hadn’t been playing that silly game, we might never have found Cai Tai and we might never have known the pleasure of eating authentic Thai cuisine in Africa. It is always good to eat local, but on occasion its not so bad if that locally prepared food comes under the influence of a country half way around the world.