Thai food is one of those things you can just eat forever and always love it. Its a damn shame it has recently become the new “it” food. This country has unfortunately been the victim of bad Chinese food for what it seems like centuries…Then Thai food came on the scene and tried to prove our views on Asian dining wrong. And so they succeeded. That being said, not all Thai food is equal. There is a beautiful establishment in the Belmont area called Pad Thai. It is run by a family: the wife cooks, the husband brings food to the tables, and the sons take orders. There is nothing better to see a family living the American dream, and the citizens of cville supporting it.
I went there twice last week out of a mixed feeling that my first impression could be improved upon by a second visit…then again I have been to Thailand on a food journey where I burned my mouth to high well while trying to see what Thai food really is. In a nutshell, its an orgasm of flavors that leaves you red and burning, but you like every second of it.
Clean kitchen
There are few restaurants in cville that show off their kitchen, and those that do, make sure (intentional?) that the lighting around the kitchen area is of the poorest quality (Bizou). Pad Thai has the kitchen smack dab in plain view of anyone entering/eating at the restaurant. It looks spotless. How much more confirmation do you want for the quality of the food prep?
Perfect Portions
Most restaurants these days have a subliminal message on the menu: lunch or dinner portion that feeds three. I am in favor of getting just the right amount of food. Especially with Asian food, it does not and cannot taste the same when you re-heat it. Usually Asian foods are stir-fried or fried, and there is no way to capture the same taste with the zap of a microwave button.
Pad Thai not only serves its dishes in modern china, but the portions were perfect. Just the right amount. If you are used to, and cherish the Cheesecake Factory model, you might be complaining that the portions are too small.
Thai Winners
- Tom Yum Soup: this soup is tough to get right. It needs just the right balance of savory broth with lime juice and fish sauce. Too much of one and you have tainted water. Pad Thai definitely knows what they are doing. I am usually a fan of the coconut based Tom Kha Gai soup, but I had both, and the Tom Yum is definitely tops.
- Papaya Salad: another staple of a Thai dinner lineup. This had an excellent lime-based dressing with just the right amount of spice. The portion again was perfect as a starter or shared appetizer.
Verdict
Pad Thai offers cville a very clean and friendly location for Thai food. Is it REALLY good Thai food? Not necessarily, but keep your fingers crossed, this place shows promise in the most basic Thai dishes. I hope they can translate that happy Thai spirit into the rest of the dishes. Mind you, I had noodle-based dishes both occasions and wasn’t particularly thrilled with either.
cVillains: let us know if there are any other dishes worth trying!
156 Carlton Rd.
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Popularity: 5% [?]
Tagged as: Belmont, Pad Thai, Rants, Raves, Restaurants, Reviews, Thai Food
about 25 or 30 miles south is a place called Thai Siam takeout. What’s on the menu? Depends on what she finds in the market our pulls out of her garden (in addition to the ‘normal’ curries, etc.).
Forget about going there for the best Thai food - go there for the best food you’ve ever had, regardless of the origin.
Thai Siam web goodness
C’Villianous roadtrip?
Holy smokes! That is a strong comment and I will definitely take you up on that! This woman cooks from her garden? No menu? Daily menu? Now that is my kind of place.
she has a menu with the standard stuff, but, naturally, you want to ask for the specials (she actually has a very large menu - and did I mention it was cheap? Nothing over $7.95, most $5.95 or $6.95).
Went there for lunch during the week one day - had a big cooler to keep everything warm, and drove an order for the entire office back to C’Ville. The whole company ate for hours, and there were leftovers. We sampled many dishes and were amazed by them all.
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Please stop dogging people’s restaurants. Please. Monsoon is a family operated business. Over the years, I have watched the owner in the kitchen and her two daughters working their butts off EVERY night. They are small business owners (of the kind who actually work, as opposed to many of the restaurant owners in this town who simply hire others to do the grunt work that is running your own restaurant). No, perhaps they are not the overeducated waitrons on the Downtown Mall, but isn’t any good meal worth a wait? I have lived in Cville for over eight years now, and have spent a good amount of time eating in just about every restaurant here, and at the end of the day, if I had to choose between some overpriced restaurant on the Mall serving ten dollar martinis, or pad thai and homemade mushroom dumplings at Monsoon, I would choose Monsoon, because even though there may always be a bit of a delay, most rational people realize that good homemade food (which is what Monsoon embodies) is worth waiting for. Cvillains, get over yourselves!
umm…did I miss something? Who mentioned Monsoon? Where is this Monsson!? FYI, price has no impact on our review of good/bad food in cville, what the palate knows the palate tells…
I have had waits at Monsoon, it is a fact. But coltrane informed me of how the business is run (which I’ve kept, above), and I felt ill. There is certainly a difference between a business tolerating carelessness in its servers and a business’ desire not to bring in outside employees, risking diluting the family business.
I probably eat at Moonson at least twice a month, and they always remember to bring us their special hot sauce, so I have nothing but love for them. That being said, Thai Siam is hands down the best Thai food I’ve ever had (granted, I’ve never been to Thailand). Absolutely worth the drive, but I still need a place in town when I’m in need of a fix and don’t feel like filling up the gas tank. I will certainly give Pad Thai a try, especially since Monsoon is for sale. A gal needs to be able to support her habit.
I live in Nelson and my family LOVES Thai Siam and looks for every excuse to get take out there- not that we need an excuse ! I never thought that we would have something this good in Nelson ! There is also a decent Chinese place called CHEN’S by the Food Lion that makes excellent Singapore Noodles. I have tried Pad Thai- enjoyed my dishes and will definitely head back there again. Working in Charlottesville lets me sample the best of both worlds !
After yesterday’s post I convinced the spouse to let me order take out from Pad Thai and I am now begging Monsoon to take me back. I ordered the red curry “as hot as you can possibily make it” and the Pad Thai to be hot, but normal people hot (like 4 out of 5 hot, vs. 11 out of 5 for the red curry). The Pad Thai came to maybe a 3 and the red curry had almost no heat at all. On top of that, the red curry was so bland and off-tasting (not spoiled off-tasting but just weird and completely unappealing) that the husband opted for a PB&J and the shrimp promptly went in the trash. I continued to pick at the pad thai, which was passable but definitely didn’t satisfy my craving. Sorry Pad Thai, I will not be returning. And Monsoon, I promise I will never stray again (accept when I’m “away on business” in Nelson and happen to come across Thai Siam…).
[…] July 24 - cocoNUT […]
Pad Thai is THE best Thai place in town!
[…] forgotten why I stopped going back, and I was quickly reminded. The wait was ridiculous. I do appreciate their situation, so I’m willing to go back. I’m just going to try to make it back on a weekday. As for […]
i finally ate at pad thai, & it was delightful.
i am hungry, and want this food, now. i have no menu, and pad thai has… wait for it… no website.
i like very spicy food, and do not care if it was once an animal. can one of you people tell me what to order?
it is not very spicy at pad thai. i begged them to make my curry spicy and it wasn’t. still good, just not spicy.
don’t know how up-to-date this menu is, but everything i remember from today looks the same price:
http://www.allmenus.com/menus/256499/Pad-Thai/
@14: I told you it was gud
I heart spicy. Perhaps they will make it spicy if you know the secret handshake…
@14 please revise my earlier statement. it should read “i finally ate at pad thai & it was convenient.”
omfg, lemongrass on the corner is SO much better! we ate there for lunch yesterday & at mas last night & aromas today & lemongrass is the one my mom is still raving about & will probably force me to go to for dinner. and the portions were probably twice the size of pad thai’s, for just $6.95. she had the lemongrass chicken (not spicy) & i had the massaman curry (8/10 spiciness–actually spicy!), & they were both fabulous. i hear the lemongrass tofu & the pad thai are really good too.