best Thai food PDX - that is not Pok Pok

[bkeater]

any runner ups?

[goodbyeohio]

i really enjoyed the som tum at baan-thai near psu. they also have a red pumpkin curry that was recommended to me by a friend (didn't try it, though). especially recommended if you like your thai food with some heat..

[Kazy Ctn]

I just discovered that a Thai place I really enjoyed (Iyara in the Civic on Burnside) is now out of business. Anyone know what happened there?

I'm also curious to see some new suggestions in this thread as well..

[SauceSupreme]

Red Onion Thai on NW 23rd
http://pdxplate.com/forum/red-onion-thai

They've even got a Thai specials menu that had long been "off-menu" and reserved for Thai students and expats and what not who knew to ask. Now it's made publically available, and has great things on it. Favorites here include standards like pad graprao which includes chicken and shrimp, as well as anything curry, especially seafood like catfish in green curry or stuffed calamari in green curry. The massaman curry with pumpkin is also quite nice.

Dang's Thai Kitchen
http://pdxplate.com/forum/dangs-thai-kitchen

Same thing as Red Onion, this was actually the original and has largely the same menu. This is really convenient for folks who live in Sellwood or points south, as it's easier to get to LakeO than to NW 23rd.

Ping
http://pdxplate.com/forum/ping

While it's got the same braintrust as Pok Pok, it's a different menu, one that leans heavily into Chinese and Singaporean street food as well. The duck pet pha lo and the stewed pork knuckle are both tremendous here, as are the skewers, my favorite being the fishballs and the octopus.

[seattledebs]

Wow, thanks for these tips. Somehow whenever I find myself in Portland wanting Thai food, it's Sunday and Pok Pok is closed. I studied in Chiang Mai in college and miss street food! Do you know of any other places that have good Northern specialties?

I wish there were more places with secret authentic specials menus in Seattle! Racha used to have a $5 menu (including great pad grapao gai with kai dao) during its karaoke nights; I went and ate some and sang wonderfully bad Thai pop songs from ten years ago. But I don't think they have the menu anymore.

[Leonardo]

Pok Pok is open on Sunday. They are the only one I know of that serves northern food.

Another of my faves would be Typhoon.

[sambamaster]

They don't get any love on this or other boards, but Rama Thai in Beaverton has some northern things and Lao offerings including Issan sausage; they have a handful of specials on the board written in Thai only, so that is a good indicator of who eats there and maybe a hint as to quality, maybe....and Kesone Thai-Lao Bistro (yeah, I know, bistro is usually a good indicator too...of mediocrity) has some northern and Lao items as well...and the ones I've sampled are pretty good, i.e., namm khao. When you tire of dining in a den of hipness, try one of these....

[Leonardo]

Of course. How could I forget Kesone. Love their food, and is always a treat to have some Lao choices.
(Agree about the "bistro" crap. Every office building cafeteria is now called a "bistro". Enough!)