Next up on the list was Pad Thai. I'd heard a few so-so reviews of this place and I suspected we wouldn't find anything beyond extraordinary...but it was a sunny Sunday afternoon just off South St, so the setting made up for the underwhelming offerings from Pad Thai
NO, that's not a massive fortune cookie on our table...it's just a napkin. The perfect weather and excellent service really made for an enjoyable time.
The steamed jade dumplings were decent...again, I know that there's probably a steamed dumpling just as good and a little cheaper lurking only a dozen blocks south of here around Washington Ave, but we were having a good time on the outside table so I wasn't too bothered by that fact.
The spring rolls were on the edge of being overdone, but they had plenty of crunch and perfectly flavorful & steamy innards. The side-sauce was leaning to the sweet-side (I like a little more citrus in my sauces), but the fresh salad accompanying the rolls helped take the sugary-sting off the accompanying sauce.
OK, here's the major complaint from every review I read about this place...if you're going to name your place Pad Thai, then the dish should be pretty damn good. The pad thai was a little sweet, like the aforementioned sauce, and the noodles were too tacky...they tended to clump up into a tangle and bring too much sauciness in each bite. Again, this isn't bad pad thai..it's just not noteworthy.
Service was top-notch, personable and prompt, but the food was pretty much in-line with your regular South St. expectations.
Check this one off the list and time to move on to clearing the next block...I saw Mustard Greens was next.
Service was top-notch, personable and prompt, but the food was pretty much in-line with your regular South St. expectations.
Check this one off the list and time to move on to clearing the next block...I saw Mustard Greens was next.
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Have you actually had a pad thai anywhere else in the city? This stands up much better than anyone else's hands down.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing that out.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, we haven't had it in more than a few places around Philly...a place over off 11th (Cafe ????...can't recall, was when I first moved here) and a place out in University City.
I agree, no great pad thai found yet in Philly.
We're a bit jaded though...we have a friend back in Virginia who knew a Thai family that ran two restaurants, so we would always have a good, fresh pad thai on tap.
Again, like the location, good service, just not impressed with pad thai.