Today was finally a cool, fall like day, so what could be better than going somewhere that the food was hot both in temperature and in flavor. My eldest child had wanted to go to a Thai place for a while, so we ended up at Thai Country Cafe on the Delmar Loop. We picked that location since it has a handy parking lot close by off Eastgate where you do not have to cross any streets. While we walked from the lot to the restaurant I noticed the new Taste of India restaurant on Eastgate which replaced the Thai Pizza Company. Now that the pedestrian bridge between the Wash U Danforth campus is open again, I will have to venture over there for lunch during the week!
We arrived shortly after their 11:30 opening and there were already a few patrons there. I had last been there about four years ago, and it had not changed much. It has a nice wooden interior that my eldest described as a "Thai Applebee's" with lots of Thai knicknacks hanging from the walls. The wait staff was very efficient and brought us some large glasses of and soon afterwards took our drink orders, giving us time to look over their extensive menu with lots of pictures. My wife and mother-in-law decided to split an order of #36 Pad Thai, my eldest chose the #62 yellow curry and also convinced me to try the #65 Chiang Mai Noodle, the favorite dish of one of their co-workers. That sounded like fun to me so I ordered it with chicken. My mother-in-law also ordered a Thai tea which she really liked a lot. It did not take too long for the food to come out and it all looked and smelled fantastic. My Chiang Mai Noodle dish was served in a large bowl with lots of crispy egg noodles on top.
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| #62 - Yellow Curry with chicken |
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| #65 Chiang Mai Noodle with chicken |
I had asked for them to make my Chiang Mai noodles "hot" and they spiced it up without making it unbearable. The potatoes, however, were extremely hot as in degrees Fahrenheit, so I had to break them up into smaller pieces to cool them down and eat them. The curry sauce was very creamy and flavorful, and the soft egg noodles were complemented very well with the crunchy ones. I thought it was a very good combination and a nice change from getting a more typical curry with rice. It was also a very large portion and I was looking forward to eating the rest of it another time as another meal. That makes for a very good value since you get two meals for the price of one. The pad thai was also spot on and quite good.
The service was also very friendly and efficient. We noticed they boxed up the take home curry dishes in large covered cups in plastic bags so we did not lose any sauce and did not have to worry about leaks. I thought that was a nice touch. With so much competition on Delmar these places have to be consistently good or they will be the next place to close. Thai Country Cafe continues to do well and I expect they will stick around.
Food, Service & Value
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