Note Thai on Bushwick Avenue in the Montrose area. — Photos by Scarlett Lindeman

Note Thai is a relatively new restaurant near the Montrose stop on the L train. They serve up all the Thai standards: a decent pad Thai, a refreshing green papaya salad, and a rainbow of curries, adding a bit of color to the often dreary neighborhood.

	Note Thai’s food. Click to enlarge.

If the menu looks strangely familiar it’s because the owner designed the same for Long Lai, another Bushwick-area Thai restaurant. The Thailand native used to be in cahoots with the Knickerbocker eatery (and a previous incarnation off of Bedford, five years ago) but after some bad-business blood and money discrepancies with the Long Lai owner, Note jumped ship, taking the kitchen crew with him.

Note Thai is more a take-out than sit-down restaurant. Peer into the kitchen, as the curtain that separates the back of the house from four small tables in front is usually open; all the merrier, as you can watch the cooks agitate your pad see-ew into glistening ribbons. The Ikea furniture is complemented by a bright lime green wall and tacked up photos of the smiling mugs of local patrons.

On last visit, the chewy bounce of drunken noodles, with basil, peppers, and garlic were slick with oil but not greasy; but the massaman curry, a Southern Thailand potato, onion, and coconut mixture, was too sweet and tepid. When my partner asked for a panang curry we spent the evening choking down a napalm-like slurry of ground chiles, peppers, and mock duck. My taste buds were annihilated, and I couldn’t register any other flavor but pain for the next half hour.

There are thirteen protein choices and heat levels to choose from, including a couple meat analogues for the vegetarians. Though I say this as a meat eater, mock duck is my favorite. Made from high protein gluten, it is chewy and meaty with a slight wheaty aftertaste; though the best thing about it may be it’s resemblance to plucked poultry skin. Try it in the mock duck salad — a heap of red onion, cashew, tomato, and fresh herbs that is brightened with lime juice, fish sauce, and a careful use of sugar.

Most dishes tend to hit the same sweet-sour-vinegar note — tasty, but not mind blowing. Some locals could be forgiven in thinking the prices are one or two dollars more than they should be — but I’m not complaining. When you can’t eat another taco or burrito, the sweetly numbing taste of Note Thai is a welcome addition.

Note Thai
279 Bushwick Ave | 718-281-2889
Price: appetizers $3.95-7.95, main courses $7.95-14.95
Hours: Mon-Sat 12pm-10:30pm, Sun: 3pm-10:30pm
Delivery: Yes
CASH ONLY