I Could Have Guessed I Was Eating at the Best…

I have been on a quest to find excellent Thai food in NYC. Since moving here last August, I have found nothing that matches my favorite places for Thai food in Chicago. I know that NYC has great food, but for some reason whenever I have ventured out for Thai (even after doing much research on a place), I have been very disappointed. Last Monday, this changed. I went out to Queens with two friends in search of said Thai food. My friend guaranteed that this place, one of her favorites since childhood, would meet all of my Thai food expectations. We went to Sripraphai. It was fantastic.

Now I don’t always go for such a basic when eating Thai food, but I just had to try their Pad Thai. Amazing…just sweet enough, just peanuty enough, with noodles cooked to perfection. My friends also enjoyed their meals-though they were full of meat that I couldn’t eat. The catfish (Crispy Thai Catfish Salad) looked particularly interesting. It was fried in a manner that made it appear as though sea sponge had been fried. Apparently, this too was excellent. With dinner we ordered Lychee Wine from Thailand. It had a strange grassy smell, but a very refreshing taste, although a little sweet. I would probably not order it again, however, I am glad that I tried it.

Upon arriving home from my trek out to Queens my copy of New York Magazine was sitting on the table with the cover story of the 101 Best Cheap Eats in the city. Sripraphai was ranked 5, and one of only 7 restaurants given 5 stars (http://newyorkmetro.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2006/18479/index1.html). From my experience at this place last Monday, it definitely deserves the ranking. The only unfortunate part is that there might not be a place to match the quality of Shipraphai closer to home.