2-Bit Review: No Thai!

One or two visits. A few hundred words. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

The location on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Catherine has struggled to find its place in the neighborhood. The folks who virtually demolished it and built Gelato di Roma sunk some serious money into their sleek little building, but that incarnation just didn’t stick.

Now, the Kerrytown neighborhood welcomes No Thai! The venerable print publications of our fair city have already covered the entymology behind a restaurant that’s called “No” Thai, when in fact Thai food is exactly what they serve. So here’s the 2-bit version of my impressions.

The menu of approximately 20 items is posted on a large board. You walk up to the counter and choose an item that is essentially vegetarian to start – noodles or rice, and a variety of veggies. These combinations are seasoned in a Thai or Asian manner, Pad Thai, for instance. Choose the seasoned dish, then select chicken, beef, shrimp, or tofu. All entrees are in the $9 range. There are also a couple sides, like spring rolls for $3.

After ordering, take a cup to the fountain for your soda, or for the optional Thai Ginger Tea. You sit at one of the tidy formica tables, or a tall stool along the counter at the window, and wait for your name to be called. “Order for Mandy,” came a shout from the back. Walking up to the pass-through to the kitchen where my plates were sitting, I asked the cook, “Do I take these myself?” and the cook on the other side nodded yes.

“Yoga” hot is a good thing.

My Pad Basil with chicken was fantastic. Lots of quality white meat (no thigh!) chicken, and I could really taste the basil. The heat level was perfect with flecks of red pepper. I specified “yoga” hot, which is No Thai!’s (that’s an awkward bit of punctuation) spice level one notch past medium heat. I asked that the green peppers be left out, which was done without pause, including extra fresh, perfectly cooked broccoli. Too much onion for filler, but then I always think this – I’m a true carnivore.

The Button was with me and ordered Pad Thai with shrimp, medium spicy. She considers herself a Pad Thai connoisseur, and found it rated somewhere around a “5” on a 1-10 scale. I think it was under-seasoned for her taste, and she would have been better off with the “yoga” level, as well. James and Han (food service super heroes) were surprised when we told them this, saying that customers often find “yoga” too spicy. The Button did note that it was nice that, for a fast-ish food place, our selections were served on very nice dishes.

Two trim, fresh, not-too-oily spring rolls came with that side order. And our entrees were so huge that we both had plenty to take home for lunch the next day. Though upon re-heating I supplemented The Button’s Pad Thai with more shrimp, since there weren’t a large number included to begin with.

A locally owned establishment, I’d compare No Thai! to “fast fresh” chains like Moe’s or Qdoba (another bizarre name). However, like its predecessors it may struggle at the location. There was only one other customer on the Thursday night we visited. I hope they are garnering some lunch traffic from the local offices – they deserve it. It’s a definite “shout out” to No Thai! from The Brou.