Ridgewood Thai restaurant Thai Village opened three weeks ago at Woodward near Catalpa. — Photos by Scarlett Lindeman
In the land of Latin American steam tables and corner Chinese, the promise of a splash of fish sauce or one torn Thai basil leaf is enough to excite a weary palate. Our neighbors to the north, with more foliage and cleaner stoops, can rejoice — Ridgewood has its very own Thai restaurant.
The three-week-old Thai Village has Ridgewood residents yelping in excitement. Owners Renny and Bambang, from Jackson Heights by way of Malaysia surveyed the restaurant scene of the neighborhood and found a niche to fill with massaman curry and tom ka coconut soup. He used to cook at Sea, in Williamsburg, and she enlisted friends and cousins to help out. The low-lit dining room is tastefully covered in tapestries and hung with mirrors and lanterns.
|
|||
|
|||
There is a large roster of Thai-inspired salads, noodles dishes, fried rice, and curries. The attentive wait staff delivers crispy duck salads on romaine lettuce and pineapple fried rice with cashews and curry powder, with thick-sweet Thai iced teas to wash it down. There are cucumber salads, reasonable prices, and brown rice is available.
On last visit, a salad of julienned green papaya, carrot, green bean, tomato and crushed peanut was topped with plump shrimp. It was refreshing though with so many crunchy nuts and sweet dressing, it was almost like eating a PB&J — still tasty but not in salad territory. Pad Thai suffered from the same problem, a sugary sauce drenching rice noodles, chicken, and green onions, flecked with egg.
Many dishes yearn for more herbs, greater chile heat, and a lighter hand with the sugar but still offer a well-needed local Southeast Asian fix; because a passable pad prik is a beacon for a neighborhood with little variety.
Seriously July 9th, 2010 at 10:32 am
why does the link above the picture go to el mio cid’s website
thunkitgood718 July 9th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
sorry to be a negative neddy but i’m really not having any hopes at all for this place. i’ll give it a whirl but wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just total crap. (if i’m surprised after trying it i’ll gladly eat my own words here)
why would i expect crap? because all of the chinese restaurants in ridgewood are crap.
also, a friend of mine who is chinese (2nd generation, grew up in flushing, etc.) told me that a lot of thai restaurants in non-asian nabes in nyc are really owned and run by chinese folks trying to cash in on something a little different than the now-everywhere chinese takeout place.
i say if it aint good & authentic, go some place else! that’s the only way ridgewood will get better restaurants!
hey, would-be restauranteers! make it authentic (or at least edible!) or don’t make it at all!
ridgeface July 9th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Hey thunkitgood.. why knock it before you tried it?
I live in the area and I’ve eaten here dine in and take out four times already.
The food was great and so was the service. Go be a negative neddy somewhere else. Or at least try it before you get all opinonated about your imagination.
thunkitgood718 July 9th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
hey ridgeface,
as stated, i do plan to try it and i’m more than happy to admit my first impression was wrong but given the track record for asian food in ridgewood, it is slop until proven otherwise.
ridgewood should be more demanding – then we’d have better restaurants.
how did thai village compare to other thai restaurants like sripraphai, thailand’s center point, chao thai, and zabb? (all in woodside area) that’s the true test.
if you haven’t been to any of these, check some out and then see if you still think thai village measures up. if you have been to some of these and think thai village is still great then i’m truly intrigued.
ridgeface July 9th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Thai food in Ridgewood is guilty until proven innocent, I see.
In any case, to say that Thai Village is filling a niche in Ridgewood is a little misleading. Chili Cafe on Fresh Pond has been there since late 2009. They’re both friendly and their food is good, though if you’re a Thai food elitist, your mileage might vary, I guess.
Matt July 10th, 2010 at 8:49 am
jesus thunk, why dont you ask people to travel to thailand and compare? just as pointless of a “true test”. All i need to know is if its passable. on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the place on knickerbocker, 10 being homecooked by a grandma in thailand, I’d be happy with a 3 or 4.
thunkitgood718 July 12th, 2010 at 8:36 am
hey ridgeface,
checked out thai village (like i said i would) and guess what? it actually isn’t slop. what it is though is a really toned down, kinda sweetened up, super americanized facsimile of thai food.
if that’s your idea of “great” thai food then you’ve never had good thai food. also, i’m puzzled over the term, “elitist.” i first went to sripraiphai over ten years ago and it was institutional cafeteria tables and full of only thai customers. thailand’s center point is small, minimally decked out and run by a very sweet family (daughter waits on tables, mom cooks). “elitist,” hmm…are you sure you’re really not sarah palin or glenn beck lurking on this site to gather intel on your perceived enemies?
ridgeface, you need to educate your palate and go to a real thai restaurant. obviously you’ve never been.
thai village aint great. it’s just okay americanized thai takeout – which still beats socks off any chinese restaurant in ridgewood – or bushwick for that matter (and i’ve tried quite a few – like over a dozen).
still, i can’t imagine going there again unless i’m desperate. i expect better thai food in queens and so should you.
BushwickPhil July 12th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
The gas face.
Lori July 13th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
We wish the owners well and much success. Very hard to run a restaurant and succeed – know from first hand experience:)
Ridgewood is just gorgeous – an undiscovered place with amazing housing stock. I was happy to read about this new Thai place opening there.
Ridgewood is 100% going to be big really big – especially the area within walking distance of the L.
armstrong July 14th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Does this place deliver to Bushwick— as in, Knickerbocker area?
Brandon July 15th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
“Ridgewood is 100% going to be big really big – especially the area within walking distance of the L.”
I hope not. So chill right now. Being in Queens instead of Brooklyn will probably keep it low-key. A lot of kids might be embarrassed to live in Queens, I think. It doesn’t even have a blog! (hence this one covering it regularly)
thunkitgood718 July 16th, 2010 at 10:49 am
well, there’s this…..
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/
(butt don’t mis-under-estimate me – i lyke queens a lott!) – seriously, i do.
Lori July 16th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Brandon-
You’re right a lot of kids might be embarrassed to live in Queens but a lot of adults with half a brain would be enticed by the quality and the affordability of the real estate there. That’s what I’m talking about – I too hope it stays chill and under the radar – that’s the charm of it really. But have you seen some of those buildings there – OMG. I gotta get one.