101 in 1001 {II}: 054 have dinner at sripraphai in queens [completed 04.12.09]
my other half, an adventurous and well-read foodie, is more than happy to commute to a good meal; i would betray my country for a properly made mission burrito, but if mexican isn't on the table, i'm pretty much unwilling to go more than a few subway stops or stand around in excess of fifteen minutes. we did both last night, for joe's been talking for at least a year about the hot and sexy thai food waiting for us out in woodside (sripraphai's reviews, i will admit, impressed even me).
i thought the holiday would thin the thai-seeking crowd a bit, but the restaurant was packed when we rolled up at about eight; we took a number and spent twenty minutes shuffling our feet and checking out the mysterious desserts in refrigerators near the door (i ended up bringing a little container of wiggly, kelly green-striped coconut tapioca whatsit home; to my surprise, it was kind of tasty). when we finally snagged a table, it was in the restaurant's more recently renovated (and less harshly lit) wing; a good beginning. an even better beginning: big-ass menu binders with a substantial vegetarian section tabbed near the end. internets, i don't even remember when i last had tom yum soup (the bowl front and center in that photo above); i know that this tom yum soup, which was fresh, sour-spicy, and brimming with silky tofu and perfectly cooked cauliflower, was easily the best i've ever had. the vegetarian spring rolls (humble, but a must for american thai) were crisp and tasty as well - points for chili sauce that wasn't cloyingly sweet - and my bowl of red curry (we planned for serious leftovers) was muddy, moody, and dragon's-breath hot. my thai receptors, deadened by years of aggressively mediocre thai from the mostly interchangeable restaurants in hell's kitchen, had a synaesthetic moment of bliss; william gibson would have been proud (more on neuromancer, finally finished last night, in a day or two). i won't be heading out to queens every weekend or anything, mind you, but i know where to go the next time the soup jones strikes.
how was the holiday weekend - and how were your eats?
We have a serious lack of good thai food around here, and now the cravings are hitting me hard. I have no idea why we have everything else and so little thai.
ReplyDeletePassover Seder followed with Easter dinner, all with bronchitis and an infection. I suspect most of the food was very tasty, but I enjoyed it less than I should have.
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