Dishes at Rod Dee Thai

[manish01]

My wife and I went to Rod Dee Thai last night and it wasn't bad but not great.
I believe that we ordered the wrong things also didn't help that there displayed menu and there printed menu where slightly different. So whats good there???

Hows the green papaya salad?

[CookieLee]

Been to both restaurants in Brookline. The new one is more spacious, same great food. I love, love their duck soup, and the fried squid. i can't believe I didn't see Kao Soi on the menu, it is my most favorite Thai dish in the whole world!

[pamlet]

I'm shocked, shocked that no one has mentioned the curry dishes. So far I've only managed the red curry and green curry ones -- they're so good I just keep on ordering them. (I go to the Wash Sq branch -- not sure if this is RDT. These are coconut curry dishes --- delicious. Moderately spicy. I also like the "Thai salad" with tofu, egg, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and that peanut dressing. This doesn't feel particularly authentic, but it is good.

[lergnom]

Their red curry is the best around, IMHO, but I like most of what they make.

[makonna]

I like their duck choo chee and of course, a thai iced tea!

[maillard]

I used to eat at the Fenway location all the time. I hope they rebuild soon! My favorite there was Kao Nar Ped. It is roasted duck, chinese broccoli, and a hard boiled egg over rice with a dark sweet sauce. I don't usually like things that are sweet and not spicy (and I do sometimes add hot sauce to this), but it is just delicious and magical. And it's nice to have a very non-greasy thai food option.

Yum. I think I need to venture up to one of the other locations again soon... The Washington Sq. location is really nice. I haven't been to the other yet.

[Zatan]

I agree that the Som Tum (green papaya salad) is not always great, it's been kind of limp a couple of times I've gotten it. Also agree on the tod mun, a good deal for a large portion of these yummy fish cakes.

I'm jumping into this thread again mainly because I just went to the Washington Sq. location and had a nice sit-down meal there. The space is pleasant (I can't eat in the cramped one at Summit Ave.), and the food good. I've only been this once, and I got a special of Thai herb roast chicken with Bangkok fried rice. It was an entire half chicken, very nicely roasted and flavored, along with the rice and two sauces (one sweet, one a sort of garlicky fish sauce mixture). Not my favorite and not very authentic I guess, but it looked good so I had it. It made two meals, and if you like roast chicken you'd probably like this version. Here's a pic.

[galangatron]

i haven't been to rod dee in awhile but i always liked the boat noodle soup (available with beef or pork). it's usually written on the specials board

[teezeetoo]

to your original question, I do like Rod Dee (usually go to the one in Washington Square now) but don't particularly cotton to their papaya salad or their Tom Sum Hot and Sour soup (find the Vietnamese version of this, Can Chua, much tastier). Have found their som tum a bit bland and not terribly fresh-tasting. I prefer Dok Bua's food, by a hair, and consider both very good restaurants.

[Science Chick]

I would like to add their Tod Man (fish cake appetizer) to these other wonderful suggestions. Very good, w/lots of lemongrass....mmmmm! Generous portion, too!

[phatchris]

I really enjoy the Tom Sum Noodle soup on a chilly day.

[galleygirl]

Someone mentioned that before, and I always forget them on cold days, in my rush to get a korean jigae!

[mrwhiskers]

which Rod Dee are we talking about here? arent there two left after the fire burned down my favorite Rod Dee outlet by Fenway? Another question, of the two remaining, which has the better kitchen?

[galleygirl]

I've only eaten at the old Brookline one, closer to Coolidge Corner.I'd like to hear about the Washington Sq. outpost, as well.

[BJK]

I lived about a block away from Rod Dee for just over two years, and probably ate there 100 times. Highly recommend:

Pad Thai - maybe the best I've had
Pad See You - wide flat rice noodles, chinese broccoli, egg, and meat (I like it with chicken and sometimes request it spicy)
Pad Kra Pao - ground meat of your choice (I like chicken or pork), bell peppers, jalapenos, basil, and a sweet, sour, and spicy sauce
Indonesian Fried Rice - spicy curried chicken fried rice with jalapenos, crispy chicken, fried egg, and sweet and sour dipping sauce
Boat noodle soup - amazing beef noodle soup with steak, meatballs, noodles, bok choy, and a sweet, sour, and spicy beef broth
spicy crispy chicken with basil - crispy fried chicken pieces, jalapenos, basil, sweet, sour and spicy brown sauce
golden triangles - crispy, fried, full of curried potatoes, peas and carrots

Man I miss Rod Dee! They have a pretty respectable website, particularly for a little ethnic joint.

http://www.roddeethai.com/index.php

:
)BK

[nightsky]

Another vote for Pad Kee Mao. I also prefer it with chicken. It's always good, but sometimes it's just amazing: you get that grilled, slightly burnt taste on the noodles, and not too oily like it can be. And the vegetable combo is better when they use broccolini or other bitter greens. When all the stars are aligned, it's fantastic.

[C. Hamster]

Amen

I also love the crispy chicken

[whops]

My husband always orders the Kao Soi which I have read is a royal dish. It is hard to describe but it has several different kinds of noodles in a rich spicy coconut curry sauce garnished with pickled vegetables and I forget what else.

[Zatan]

Kao Soi is a typical and popular dish from Northern Thailand, and it usually includes wheat noodles (sometimes fried first, like "chow mein" though I hate to compare them), a spicy curry sauce with coconut, pickled/fermented cabbage, and other ingredients (chicken, scallion, sprouts, etc.). possibly from the older times when the Capital was in the North, though not sure of the pedigree. Good stuff! I ate if often in Chiang Mai. Kind of a noodle soup but not really.....

By the way, if you like the idea of Royal Cuisine from Thailand, check out the cookbook (much more than a cookbook) by David Thompson called, simply, "Thai Food". It is truly excellent and beautiful.

[barleywino]

i sometimes get their Indonesian fried rice, sometimes requesting duck instead of chicken.

[jylze]

yeah i think the indonesian fried rice is the way to go at rod dee. i don't quite know why the pad thai is so loved, but to each his/her own.

[nader]

One thing I always insist on getting here, without fail, is the beef salad (Yum Neau). It's a little on the pricier side of things at around $11 but is akin to crack-cocaine. There's lots of fish sauce in this one, but also lots of lime juice and spices, which balances everything out beautifully. Really a favorite. The wife is also a huge fan of their Pad Kee Mao with chicken, which is a flat noodle dish. I wasn't as big a fan as she is, but am turning around to it. We usually tend to round out our order with a curry dish - the current fav being the Choo Chee curry with duck. You'll have enough for 6 people eating until stuffed with these three dishes, or enough for a weekends worth of food for two at only around $30. Insanely good cheap eats in my opinion!

[Zatan]

I mention in another post the steamed chicken over rice, you wouldn't be tempted from the description or even a pic, but it's fantastic (Thursdays only, and includes winter melon soup). Any of the noodle dishes are good from my experience, Rod Dee noodles, pad kee mao, pad see you (I almost never get pad thai so as to balance out the masses who only order this!). Their gaprows are great, and almost anything from the specials board I think. Also be sure to specify if you prefer spicy (or Thai-style) or they may tone it down and sweeten it for "American tastes".

[galleygirl]

Amazingly enough, Rod Dee's is the only pad thai I will eat, except my own.
Also LOVE their Seafood Yum, more a cooked seafood dish than a salad, with lots of spicy, spicy (well, if you ask for pet pet) seafood, and lots of lemongrass

[manish01]

pet pet?

[galleygirl]

Sometimes pronounced 'ped, ped'; basically means very hot in Thai. "Pet ma' even more so. Others mention 'Thai Spicy" or "Thai style' works for them. I go with the pet, pet...

[BJK]

I'm pretty sure "pet pet" means "very spicy" and "pet ma" means "as spicy as possible."

:)
BK

[galleygirl]

I'll go with that! Pet ma it is!

[Chrispy75]

To order your food extra spicy in Thai just say, khaaw phet phet na khrap. This is what one of the Rod Dee delivery drivers wrote down for me after I told him that I wanted my food really spicy next time. Mai pet means not so spicy.

[C. Hamster]

We order from them easily once a week and always ask for it extra spicy in English and they accomodate just fine.

But we'll have to try in in Thai next time.

[lergnom]

Yes. I live around the corner. They speak English. Just ask for it spicy or Thai style.

[Chrispy75]

I also live around the corner, but found that they never made it spicy enough when asking for extra, extra spicy in English. So far, the Thai way has been spot on.

[C. Hamster]

My SIL lives directly across the street ... hahahha. True.

We have never had a problem getting them to make brutally, sometimes regrettably spicy dishes when asked in English.

[PaulB]

Perhaps the dishes you've received are not brutally, regrettably spicy enough for Chrispy75? Thanks for the tip Chrispy75.

[Nab]

No idea if it's the same as what I'd had several years ago, but I would agree with you here. The pad thai was the best (only?) thing they had going. Pad thai topped with fried chicken was my go-to gringo-Thai plate of guilty goodness.