This place is no joke. It's the real deal Thai, Isan (northeast) cuisine style. It's not for the hipsters, even though those motherfuckers come here in droves. But what they order is not as adventurous as they pretend to be... For example, this total douche nozzle at the next table was trying to impress his date and then he orders egg rolls and fried rice... In a real Thai joint. Listen, Johnny Depp, this is how you should order when you come here...
Der Styled Deep Fried Chicken Thigh. I have proclaimed to my one reader time and time again that the best fried cheekan I have ever had was in Bangkok, Thailand... Will their version do their motherland justice? Indeed, good sir... But was it the best? No, but almost somewhat close... That's pretty impressive found state side. The skin is thin and crunchy, seasoned very well. The flesh was a tad dry and I mean just a tad dry to keep it off the "super best of" list. It's a very nice fried chicken that bests many in the city with ease. I'm craving more of this right now.
Der's H'orderves- Pork roll, raw cured pork sausage, Isan sausages, sun dried beef. All were tasty morsels but the raw cured pork sausage will be a challenge to most uninitiated palates. I thought they were great.
Grilled Beef Spicy Salad. The meat was a bit chewy but it's intended to be. It's like a pretty spicy beef jerky to cool you down when it's hot as fuck outside.
Tum Thai. Papaya Salad - Original Super Spicy. Ok, they have like over 10 different styles of somtum and of course the original super spicy was my first pick. This is one goddam spicy papaya salad... Finally, someone did it right! It's spicy as hell but it does peak later on and then it becomes cooling at the end. Great somtum. Once you had this, everything else is just a joke.
Tum Ploo Plara. Papaya Salad - Fermented fish sauce and marinaded raw field crabs. This is not for beginners. The fermented fish sauce and raw field crabs are super funky. If you're white, forget about this, you will not make it. I liked it a lot but even the funkiness got to me half way through.
Tum Pla Too + Kao Mun. Papaya Salad - Mackerel and coconut rice. The somtum is spicy and the mackerel a bit fishier but the coconut cools everything down.
Wok Fried Seafood Suki. It tasted a lot better than it looked when it came out. I was like WTF is this slop... Then after a couple of bites, I was totally ok with this... But I wouldn't order this again.
Thai Tea. Gotta get this if you come here... To cool down that spicy ass papaya salad.
Forget all you think you know about Thai grub because this place will open your eyes to the real flavors of Thai Isan style cuisine. Their original location in Bangkok got rave reviews for the authentic flavors of the Isan cuisine and their NYC location did it justice with the same funky flavors. This is not for everyone, probably most people, but for the adventurous and spicy lovers... This is a real treat. Don't forget about the great fried chicken and sticky rice, either.
85 Avenue A
New York, NY 10009
212-260-8570
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