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October 4, 2007

The Best Thai Food In Seattle is in Portland

I get asked a lot to offer my opinion on where to find the best Thai food in Seattle and I find it’s not an easy question to answer. And to me, there’s nothing more annoying than listening to somebody ramble on about how the this cuisine or that cuisine isn’t as authentic as it elsewhere. Seattle doesn’t have “real” tacos or Seattle doesn’t have “real” barbecue, etc. Bottom line: if it’s good I don’t care.

That said, it is extremely difficult to find real Thai food anywhere in the states. And that doesn’t mean it’s not good, it’s just not good enough. So maybe I do understand what those people are talking about when they pine for tacos from San Diego. (For the record I’ve had tacos in San Diego and they are good to be sure, but I’ve found tacos just as good in Seattle: try Tacos Guyamas in White Center.)

One of the main problem with Thai food stateside is that it’s always too sweet. I asked a Thai chef why this is true and he said because Americans love sweet food and can’t eat spicy food. This is what he truly believes. I tried to explain to him that he was misinformed but he just shook his head and said no. (Grinning all along.) Sure, you can use that ridiculous star system offered at most Thai restaurants (nonexistent in Thailand BTW) and get yourself a spicier dish, but then something worse happens: the chef will simply dump a bunch of dried red chili in with your food as it’s cooking and call it day. This isn’t spicy, it’s clumsy. Thai cuisine is all about the balance between hot, sour, salty and sweet. If you increase one of these elements you must adjust the others. If you increase the chili you need to increase the lime, and so on. This doesn’t happen. People either get a 5 star chili bomb or a 1 star sugar bomb—and neither of these things is any good.

So anyway, Thai food in Seattle is hard to find. There are some great restaurants (Buddha Ruksa, Chillies Paste, May, Thai Tom) but none of them reach a level of innovation, quality or authenticity like a Monsoon does, for instance.

Then I went to Portland and visited a place that does just that. Pok Pok. Pok Pok is the sound a pestle makes as it hits a mortar when making Thai papaya salad. It also has saucier, second meaning that you can probably figure out. In Portland it’s a funky Thai restaurant/whiskey-soda bar run by a bunch of farangs and they seem to know what they’re doing. (I think the chef spent some time in Chiang Mai.) There’s both indoor and outdoor space and it has that bustling, laid-back vibe you often find in riverside restaurants in Thailand.

The food is fantastic! Mostly northern Thai dishes (not as coco-nutty, more fresh herbs and fresh chili) and they have a real wood charcoal grill for satay, a menu designed for sharing and Thai-herbed cocktails! The place is simply the best Thai food I’ve had stateside—and better than some I’ve had in the old country.

I’ve entertained the idea of a 3 hour drive just try more of the menu at Pok Pok, but that’s probably pushing it. But if you happen to be in Portland you should surely stop in for some grilled meats and papaya salad. (Cold Singha on ice too!)

Posted by Lookatlao at October 4, 2007 10:33 PM