Saturday, February 13, 2010

Thailand Café

95 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 477-1872

Nice little restaurant with many neighborhood locals dining here.
Came here for lunch with friends. Seemed like 1 guy who was bartender/waiter/runner.
Tried their $5 lychee mojito which was okay. Could have used more sugar and muddled better.
Lunch special was pretty reasonable priced. Had the chicken pad thai with fried tofu as starter.
Service was a bit lacking and a girl who came out later ran the wrong dish to the table.
Staff seemed flustered even thought it wasn't that busy.
Nothing out of the ordinary here. If it wasn't for the mojito to relax me I would have given this place a lower review.

Tai Thai was a better experience.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Trader Joe's

142 E 14th St
(between 4th Ave & Irving Pl)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 529-4612

Made my virgin visit to Trader Joe's in NYC even though I've been living here for years. I prefer to shop at Associated, Morton Williams, or Chinatown for groceries as the prices are just as good or better than Trader Joe's IMHO. Yes, this place carries a small variety versus the larger chain supermarkets and the prices are pretty good but the packaging of several items puzzles me. Produce here is prepackaged in plastic wrap which suffocates the fresh produce and promotes mold and rotting. You'll find a much better price on scallions, ginger, and garlic in Chinatown which has a high turn over rate and thus produce is ALWAYS fresh.
Obnoxiously LONG register lines that go around the store. Good luck trying to find the end of the line as there are several and the frozen fish you have in your basket will be defrosted by the time you get to pay! Many NYU students and locals shop here. Where they have the time to spend 15-30 minutes standing on line to pay for groceries is beyond me. Perhaps the lines are non existent during the morning hours when everyone is in class or at work.

Tai Thai

78 E 1st St
New York, NY 10009
(212) 777-2552

Tiny little place serving "Thailand Home Cooking". The lunch special priced at $5.95 caught my eye as my friend and I entered this narrow restaurant. Many 2 tops but they accommodated our party of 8. I had the Chicken Pad Thai which came with a salad. The salad's dressing was quite sweet and nutty. Palm sugar I suspect, with a hint of coconut and peanuts. Delish! The Pad Thai was very good too. Thai iced tea for $2.50 and served in a mason jar. Nice kitschy touch to go with the old Thai movie posters on the walls. Quaint, cheap, and cozy... I'll definitely make another visit.
Dishes are under $16 and it's CASH ONLY!
Wine and beer are offered but you can BYOB.