Take a left at the corner of Greenmount and 33rd Street and you'll discover Thai Restaurant. No, this is not a mistake; it's actually called "Thai Restaurant." You'll never guess what kind of food they serve.
Thai Restaurant opened in 1981 and was one of the first places to offer authentic Thai cuisine in Baltimore. Over the years, it has won a multitude of awards for "Best Thai Food in Baltimore." Neighbored by various establishments such as King's Fried Chicken, the restaurant features some of Baltimore's best Thai.
From the outside, the white sign with red letters reading "Thai Restaurant" is easy to miss. The inside is a bit flashier. The red carpet clashes with the sea foam green walls and mirror paneling. The ceiling appears to sink down a little.
The restaurant is larger than it appears and consists of three separate dining rooms. The clientele of Thai Restaurant appears to be an older crowd, who clearly do not reflect the demographics of the surrounding area.
Looking above my table, I noticed a photo of the Hopkins 2008 tennis team next to a large oil painting of a person from Thailand. I also noticed that the friendly wait staff wore bright orange neon shirts. Many aspects of the restaurant seemed quite random, but intriguing nonetheless.
The menu was extensive but well organized and included appetizers, soups, salads, stir fries, curries and more traditional noodle and fried rice dishes. When you go, be sure to also check out the daily specials, which are often exotic dishes not found at most Thai restaurants.
My friend and I started off with the Kiew Krob, or Thai-style fried wontons with a chicken and potato filling. They were fried just the right amount, delivering the perfect crunch. The Thai dipping sauce was tangy and sweet. Other appetizers included spring rolls (which I hear are the best in Baltimore!), satay, or grilled meat skewers, and hoy-ob, steamed mussels in Thai sauce.
I decided to try something I'd never heard of for my entrée, the mee krob radnar. This dish consisted of crispy egg noodles with shrimp, chicken, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, tomatoes and broccoli, topped in a brown gravy sauce. The egg noodles lost their crispness as they soaked up the sauce, making it easier for me to wrap my fork around them.
However, the chicken and shrimp ratio was a bit off and the tomatoes seemed out of place. Also, the sauce was too watery, and it didn't have the thick gravy consistency that I expected.
Perhaps I should have ordered the pad thai, a traditional favorite consisting of noodles, shrimp, bean sprouts, egg and Thai spices and garnishes. Along with the spring rolls, I've heard it's the best you can get in Baltimore.
My friend ordered the drunken noodles, which consisted of rice noodles stir fried in a spicy basil sauce with chilies, onions, broccoli and your choice of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, scallops or squid. We were both surprised by the hidden spiciness of this dish - one bite was perfectly mild, while the next bite was enough to blow your head off.
A bowl of white rice was the perfect remedy to our stinging mouths. Unfortunately, the rice isn't complimentary here.
I recommend the drunken noodles over the mee krob radnar. The broccoli in this dish was crunchier and the basil sauce had more body to it than the gravy sauce in my dish.
For dessert, I recommend the sweet rice with mango, another Thai favorite. The dish is cooked with coconut milk, then sprinkled with sesame seeds and served with fresh, ripe mango.
We tried the homemade mango ice cream, which was served with whipped cream and a crunchy pirouette stick. My friend likened this dish to a dessert she ate in Hawaii as a child. I enjoyed the savory taste of creamy mango.
For an appetizer, two entrees, a bowl of rice and a dessert, our bill of $51.40 was surprising, and a bit more expensive than I anticipated. Even so, our entrees were both under $15, which for a quality restaurant isn't too bad these days.
Thai Restaurant is a hidden, spicy gem on Greenmount Avenue. With some of the best Thai food in Baltimore so close, it's impossible to pass up.
