Chicago seems to have as many Thai restaurants as it does Chinese, which is unusual. If I had to guess, I'd say there are well over 100 thai restaurants here, and all the ones I've been to have been very similar in quality...decent, but not amazing. My all-time favorite is Bangkok Garden in Norfolk; many top-notch meals were sent to hell at that place.
Click on the photos to see larger versions.
Joy's Noodles (Chicago) Rama tofu with peanut sauce and steamed broccoli. The tofu was succulent and the peanut sauce delicious. A highly-recommended dish.
Duck Walk Thai (Chicago) Itty-bitty spring rolls w/ tofu; spicy tofu w/ veggies soup. Decent but not amazing...Not a fan of these tiny "Chicago Thai" spring rolls with weird ingredients.
Joy's Noodles (Chicago) Basil rice. I only had a taste of this dish too, but it had a wonderful, aromatic basil flavor. I'd order it.
Dharma Garden (Chicago) Steamed buns with greens inside, served with garlic garnish and great dipping sauce.
Dharma Garden (Chicago) Pad See Ew. D.G. is the only Thai restaurant around here to have fake meat, and it's pretty good. The best Thai food I've had in Chicago.
Dharma Garden (Chicago) This was probably Crazy (or Drunken, depending on the place) noodles with the fake meat. Goddamn good.
Thai Pastry (Chicago) Their version of Pad See Ew. Naz ordered this and I think I remember it being pretty good.
Thai Pastry (Chicago) Another incarnation of these goddamn wimpy spring rolls. What's the deal, Chicago?
Thai Pastry (Chicago) I'm a sucker for Pad Kapau (got spoiled in Norfolk) and tend to order it quite often. This one was good, not great.
Joy's Noodles (Chicago) Rice stick (noodles) with tofu. Naz ordered this (with eggs in it, so it's not vegan—but could easily be made vegan). I didn't taste it, but he loves it, and he eats here all the time, so it's probably wonderful.
Joy's Noodles (Chicago) Vegetable (spring?) rolls. Interesting combo, with the pineapple...hadn't seen that before. Not bad, but the wrappers were kind of dry. Great peanut sauce. Still haven't found good translucent spring rolls with tofu...
Joy's Noodles (Chicago) Drunken noodles, sometimes called "crazy noodles," vary wildly from place to place. I've seen everything from fresh (wide) noodles to rice sticks (above) to spaghetti! Funny that there's no taste of alcohol, given the name.
Penny's Noodles (Chicago) Veggie noodle soup with tofu and trimmings. Great stuff. I only had a taste of this, but I would order it.
Penny's Noodles (Chicago) Hot Pepper Noodles with (marinated) tofu, fresh rice noodles, and peppers. This was the perfect spiciness for me too...a great dish.
Yes Thai (Chicago) Basil tofu with hot peppers. Decent flavor but way too much MSG...too salty and too strong overall.
Nhu Hoa Cafe (Chicago) Panang Curry w/ tofu, mushrooms, lemon leaves, basil, Laos chili paste.
Soy coconut/pearl smoothie.
Thai Lagoon (Chicago) The fact that we had a beautiful waitress doesn't excuse the fact that they put cauliflower and leafy greens into a red curry! Tasted fishy, too. Christ Almighty.
Yes Thai (Chicago) Basil Ki Mao w/ Tofu. This was so spicy that I could barely eat half of it in a sitting. Yes Thai is pretty run-of-the-mill, like most Thai restaurants in Chicago.
Random Thai Rest. (NYC) Tofu with eggplant, peppers, basil, etc. Good. Note cute heart-shaped rice serving.
Bangkok Garden (Norfolk) Tofu Pad Kapau, (extra spicy). Not a great photo, but some of the best food ever, if prepared by the Master. Basil-riffic.
Chmiel Kitchen-Works, Ltd. My homemade kapau variant, with wide (fresh) rice noodles from asian market. Good!
