Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
However, do try the jail’s lobster phad phong karee. It’s simply wonderful.
At least now that Taste of Thai Town is occupying an abandoned Albany Park police station. (Slideshow time.)
Kind-of-a-big-deal Thai chef Arun Sampanthavivat is behind this conversion. And the first thing you’ll notice is the enormous shrine in front of the building. It’s a nice meeting point for your first dates. Perhaps a little inspiration for your Instagram feed. Or maybe it’s just an enormous shrine, which is okay, too.
Once you walk in, you’ll find a noodle bar on your right doing incredible things with spicy noodle soups and pad thai. To your left: a dining room with hand-painted walls celebrating King Rama V, modernizer of Thailand and just a really great Rama all around.
Further back, past some bright-orange walls, you’ll find a sunroom. Here, you and whatever assortment of pan-Asian-food enthusiasts you’ve assembled will open steaming baskets full of Thai-style shumai, Vietnamese sandwiches, snapper with pineapple curry and rotating specials like ham hocks with chilies and bok choy.
Oh, and one last thing to keep in mind: it’s BYOB for now.
Which should really test your knowledge of ham-hock-friendly wines.
However, do try the jail’s lobster phad phong karee. It’s simply wonderful.
At least now that Taste of Thai Town is occupying an abandoned Albany Park police station. (Slideshow time.)
Kind-of-a-big-deal Thai chef Arun Sampanthavivat is behind this conversion. And the first thing you’ll notice is the enormous shrine in front of the building. It’s a nice meeting point for your first dates. Perhaps a little inspiration for your Instagram feed. Or maybe it’s just an enormous shrine, which is okay, too.
Once you walk in, you’ll find a noodle bar on your right doing incredible things with spicy noodle soups and pad thai. To your left: a dining room with hand-painted walls celebrating King Rama V, modernizer of Thailand and just a really great Rama all around.
Further back, past some bright-orange walls, you’ll find a sunroom. Here, you and whatever assortment of pan-Asian-food enthusiasts you’ve assembled will open steaming baskets full of Thai-style shumai, Vietnamese sandwiches, snapper with pineapple curry and rotating specials like ham hocks with chilies and bok choy.
Oh, and one last thing to keep in mind: it’s BYOB for now.
Which should really test your knowledge of ham-hock-friendly wines.
