52 W Roosevelt Rd
Lombard, IL 60148
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Short review: Stopped by Mama Thai today and had a good Thai meal with even better service. Though is is more important to have great food or great service?
Full Review: Wanting to try a different Thai place in the western burbs we stopped by Mama Thai.
The restaurant was pretty empty considered it was nearly five thirty. We were seated quickly and while pondering over the menu the chatty server caught my attention. She was talking with other diners across the room ad seemed unusually gregarious (Sidebar: I know some servers outgoing to diners because they want to receive a large tip but something told me this was just part of her personality)
A very nice gentleman waited on us and periodically the woman would come around and chat with us. She was chatting up a storm with us and engaged the table well, while not bothering us. I almost felt like a guest in her home, which is always a good thing at any restaurant.
I ordered the duck and when it came out I noticed how small it was, the chatty server (who could have also been the owner or the manager) also mentioned how small it was. It was quite tasty as a dish and left me wanting more.
I also made sure to taste everyone else's dish and when I tasted my dining companions chicken dish, there small pieces of rib bones which took away from an otherwise good dish. Hopefully, this was just a rare occurrence.
Everything got better once I had the "sweet sticky rice." The owner/manager made sure to save us the last one and told us she would be doing so every time she came to the our table. That was one of the best Thai deserts I've had and would go back along just for that. Sure enough it was the last one as we were leaving the owner told another table they were out of it. Extra points for that.
Overall I would go back to if I am out this way as there is good food with genuine service.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Showing posts with label thai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thai. Show all posts
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Thai Classic Review
3332 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60657
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Short Review: Went to one of the top Thai places in the city but I may have been expecting too much. Need to back because I love Thai food.
Long Review: We went out in the frigid cold to Thai Classic to meet a couple friends for dinner. I've walked past the Wrigleyville spot a couple of time but didn't know how large it really is on the inside, it looks small and narrow from the sidewalk. In fact, it's easy to miss if you're walking down the street.
When we got into the restaurant it seemed everyone gave us death stares which was very odd but also could have been attributed to our letting the extremely cold wind in. The host was very nice and asked if we would like to sit at a table or on the floor, we opted for a table in the back of the restaurant far away from the front door that lets the cold in every time people enter or leave. (To be fair to the frigid patrons those death stares were more like looks of regret)
We were seated and I opened the menu- there are pictures of dishes on the menu. Like Gordon Ramsey I'm always a bit suspicious of restaurants that show pictures of the food they are going to serve me on their menu due to some bad experiences at those sort of restaurants. I went into alert mode.
The interior is nothing to rave about, this isn't Le Colonial. Just a normal interior with a carpeted floor and with some tables and floor seating around the walls. The front of the restaurant is nicer looking and has wood flooring and a bar but I wasn't going to sit up there with the cold coming through the door.
The El rumbled over head and since it was quite in the back dining area (for now) it got a bit distracting after the second time a train went by minutes later.
We ordered Thai Spring Rolls and Calamari for an appetizer. Despite my advice not to order calamari at a Thai place it wasn't that bad. The Thai spring rolls are cold (this is how many Thai restaurants serve spring rolls so if you order them don't expect Chinese or Japanese spring to come hot from the oven) They were alright also. Just the amount of sweet in the sauce drizzled over it.
It came time to order the main dishes. I ordered Lad Nar- a mistake on my part. From my experience of Lad Nar at Joy's Noodle and Rice. I ordered it wondering if it was any better than the one I had a year ago at Joy's.
Lad Nar is a dish made with wide noodles and either pork or chicken in a gravy. It is a common Thai dish so I wasn't quite expecting what I got. Some of the noodles were a bit too crispy and even burned around the edges and the gravy was too salty. Lad Nar is supposed to be crispy but some of the noodles were downright crunchy. Just like Joy's Noodle and Rice Lad Nar. Before I about to write off the restaurant I tasted everyone else's dish to make sure it was me. Everyone said their dishes were good.
Their dishes were better than mine. Maybe something happened in the kitchen when the cook was making the Lad Nar as the restaurant got very busy very quickly. Maybe this is their variation on Lad Nar?
I gave Thai Classic the benefit of the doubt and decided whoever made my dish was having a bad day because their service is very good.
The waitress was very nice and attentive. Not so attentive that you felt the servers are hovering around the table and refilling your glass every time you take a little sip but just the right amount of watchfulness from a distance kind of attentive.
I will be back to try something else.
4 out of 5 Stars
Chicago, IL 60657
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Short Review: Went to one of the top Thai places in the city but I may have been expecting too much. Need to back because I love Thai food.
Long Review: We went out in the frigid cold to Thai Classic to meet a couple friends for dinner. I've walked past the Wrigleyville spot a couple of time but didn't know how large it really is on the inside, it looks small and narrow from the sidewalk. In fact, it's easy to miss if you're walking down the street.
When we got into the restaurant it seemed everyone gave us death stares which was very odd but also could have been attributed to our letting the extremely cold wind in. The host was very nice and asked if we would like to sit at a table or on the floor, we opted for a table in the back of the restaurant far away from the front door that lets the cold in every time people enter or leave. (To be fair to the frigid patrons those death stares were more like looks of regret)
We were seated and I opened the menu- there are pictures of dishes on the menu. Like Gordon Ramsey I'm always a bit suspicious of restaurants that show pictures of the food they are going to serve me on their menu due to some bad experiences at those sort of restaurants. I went into alert mode.
The interior is nothing to rave about, this isn't Le Colonial. Just a normal interior with a carpeted floor and with some tables and floor seating around the walls. The front of the restaurant is nicer looking and has wood flooring and a bar but I wasn't going to sit up there with the cold coming through the door.
The El rumbled over head and since it was quite in the back dining area (for now) it got a bit distracting after the second time a train went by minutes later.
We ordered Thai Spring Rolls and Calamari for an appetizer. Despite my advice not to order calamari at a Thai place it wasn't that bad. The Thai spring rolls are cold (this is how many Thai restaurants serve spring rolls so if you order them don't expect Chinese or Japanese spring to come hot from the oven) They were alright also. Just the amount of sweet in the sauce drizzled over it.
It came time to order the main dishes. I ordered Lad Nar- a mistake on my part. From my experience of Lad Nar at Joy's Noodle and Rice. I ordered it wondering if it was any better than the one I had a year ago at Joy's.
Lad Nar is a dish made with wide noodles and either pork or chicken in a gravy. It is a common Thai dish so I wasn't quite expecting what I got. Some of the noodles were a bit too crispy and even burned around the edges and the gravy was too salty. Lad Nar is supposed to be crispy but some of the noodles were downright crunchy. Just like Joy's Noodle and Rice Lad Nar. Before I about to write off the restaurant I tasted everyone else's dish to make sure it was me. Everyone said their dishes were good.
Their dishes were better than mine. Maybe something happened in the kitchen when the cook was making the Lad Nar as the restaurant got very busy very quickly. Maybe this is their variation on Lad Nar?
I gave Thai Classic the benefit of the doubt and decided whoever made my dish was having a bad day because their service is very good.
The waitress was very nice and attentive. Not so attentive that you felt the servers are hovering around the table and refilling your glass every time you take a little sip but just the right amount of watchfulness from a distance kind of attentive.
I will be back to try something else.
4 out of 5 Stars
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Joy's Noodle and Rice Review
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3257 N Broadway St
Chicago IL, 60657
Quick Review: Stopped by Joy's Noodle and Rice today after wanting to try it out for a long time and trekking all over Lakeview looking for a spot that where the wait was 20 minutes (or longer) Although there's a reason Joy's wasn't crowded and it probably didn't have to do with the economy.
Long Review: Walked into Joy's Noodle and Rice for an early dinner for some Thai food. My hopes were high as I heard good things about Joy's. Though, maybe my hopes were a little too high.
We started the meal off with an appetizer of Crab Rangoon. When it arrived it was about the size of my thumbnail. Are they cutting back on portion size due to the economy? Aren't they supposed to a little bigger? They were good nonetheless and I gobbled them (almost all of them anyway) up expecting my main course to be just a good if not better.
I went with the Bamee Noodles and my dining companion went with the Lard Na. When our dishes arrived I dug into my noodles, the pork on top looked like it scrapped off of someone else' plate a week ago and reheated for my dish. The noodles underneath the pork appeared to be Ramen noodles. I went for them first.
I could barely get the clumpy mass of noodles apart with my chopsticks so I used my fork but that didn't work much better and I felt I needed a knife to cut the noodles apart. I took one bite and was hit by an overwhelming taste of sugar. These are Ramen noodles- and why are they so sweet. Maybe the pork would counter the sweet effect.
It was chewy and may have very well been reheated. I struggled to finish my meal and instead took some of the Lard Na to see if it was better than my meal. Many of the noodles were burned and thus crunchy. Why are these noodles burned? This isn't like any Lard Na I've had, the sauce was also too salty. We both finished our meals nonetheless and were happy we didn't pay more than $7.50 for our dishes.
Although, the interior decor is nice and the service was attentive and friendly. I don't like giving them such a bad review because I had been anticipating the experience for a long time and the waiter was very nice but I don't think I going back anytime soon.
2 out of 5 stars
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