Thai Addison Restaurant

User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I checked this place out a couple of times this week and I am hooked. The place is very clean, the food was really good and the woman who took my orders was very nice. I used to get my Thai food from a place in Elmhurst that closed down over a year ago and I thought that I would never find a place that I liked as much as the old one. This little place, Thai Addison, has definately not fallen short and is my new place for Thai food. Check them out....you won't be disappointed. :)

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User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Visiting from Madison, WI (a medium-sized city with eight high-quality Thai restaurants, and an abundant variety of other Asian cuisines), I had high expectations for a well-spiced and substantial Thai meal. Having several good friends who are restaurateurs, I know that a few negative reviews go with the territory (as is the case here). Occasionally accurate, more often atypically anecdotal, and quite often based more on the customer's expectations than the restaurant's actual performance, one bad review doesn't usually scare me away. In this case, I'm glad I took a chance, because I came away very pleased with my choice.

Although I arrived a few minutes before closing, and ordered takeout (so I can't weigh in on table service issues), I was very impressed by the intimate and homey feel of the place, tastefully decorated with artwork and art objects from Thailand, transforming its presence in the middle of a several block-long strip mall. Looks like it would be a fun place to gather for good conversation with small groups of friends. The young gentleman who took my order was very friendly and accommodating, and my order was ready in less than ten minutes.

My vegetarian spring roll appetizer was served cold as about a dozen small rollups, which made them easier bite-sized fare to digest back in my motel room, with no sacrifice to freshness, crispness, or quality of ingredients. The tangy accompanying sauce wasn't the expected sweet and sour variety, but a tasty syrupy concoction that had a consistency and flavor reminiscent of a finely-spiced honey.

My Chicken Panang entree, one my favorite dishes generally, did not disappoint. Asked to choose spiciness on a 1 to 5 scale, I originally chose a 2.5, but was "bargained down" by my host to a "when in doubt, go lower" 2. While I'm sometimes more adventurous, that was the perfect mark for my mellower week's-end mood, resulting in a coconut-based curry that was fully spiced, but not distractingly hot. The consistency of the curry was less thick than I'm accustomed to, more brothlike than it was thickly sauce-like. But this didn't seem to compromise the rich flavor at all, and I found myself pouring extra curry over rice long after the large portions of chicken were gone, wanting to savor every drop. It was, in fact, quite memorable, comparing favorably with chicken panang I've had in top quality restaurants in Madison, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Du Pont Circle in DC.

One other tip if you're visiting from out of town--note that when Lake Street leaves Chicago and enters the Western suburbs, the street's numbering system goes back and forth from E. Lake to W. Lake to E. Lake and back again, as it enters each new suburb (the street itself occasionally disappearing completely for a time as it passes over and under major highway intersections). So before heading out from your hotel, get your laptop or phone to draw you a map, or call the restaurant for directions. With food at your destination that's both highly affordable (averaging about $10 an entree) and extremely tasty, it's a trip well worth taking.

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User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic!: We love Thai Addison! We've been there so many times, the owners know us. Their food is fantastic, there's always too much food, and their pot stickers are the best I've ever had. Try the Pad Si Eiw! This place is a favorite!

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