Tag Archives: Thailand

Duck Walk
919 W Belmont Ave
Chicago, IL

The hipsters that the Eaters are, we tend to frequent the Belmont Ave. area on the north side of Chicago. Conveniently tucked away into a small niche mere feet from the Red Line Belmont station’s exit lies the veritable Thai culinary fiesta that is Duck Walk. The actual seating area is small, the bathroom is ungodly tiny, but the food is great. I (M) had the Rama chicken of course, which I say is probably the best I’ve had thus far. The peanut sauce, always the key to a great Rama chicken dish, was excellent: not too spicy, but not too bland, and plenty thick enough to pack the power that normal peanut butter would. The broccoli garnish was very well cooked (most other places tend to dry out their broccoli) and the chicken morsels were very nice, on par with another Eater favorite, Star of Siam.

But Duck Walk added their own special touch – a slice of orange on top of the rice plate provided with the meal. While this may not seem like much, the orange’s flavor and juiciness perfectly complemented the meal, adding an extra dimension to an already fantastic dining experience. And all for just $6.25, a lower price than I’ve found at any other restaurant. Simply excellent! If you are lucky enough to eat there for weekday lunch, an entree and appetizer combo is available for less than six dollars.

1016 Church Street
Evanston, IL
http://www.thaisookdee.com/

Thai is one of our favorite cuisines – so for a nice easy dinner in, we decided to get some delivery from a local joint (Eater 2 has previously eaten in at the restaurant, and it is pleasant and clean, if a little cavernous). Thai Sookdee is good, comforting, Thai food, but not extraordinarily authentic, so if you are really into spice and heat, this probably isn’t the place.

Eater 1 had Rama Broccoli, also known elsewhere as Pra Ram Long Song, a tasty dish of chicken, thick peanut-chili sauce and rice. The dish was good, but there was a little too much broccoli in relation to the chicken, but that’s a usual issue with Rama dishes – and broccoli is healthier anyway…. Eater 2 had Pad See Eiw, another favorite. The dish was very solid and had good amounts of broccoli, egg and chicken and a balanced soy-based sauce. Unlike some Pad See Eiws the sauce was not greasy and the noodles were not the extremely wide kind that get gummy. We had crab rangoon for an appetizer, which was crispy, tasty and perfectly bite-sized. The sweet chili dipping sauce that came with was also excellent.

All in all, it was a very satisfying meal, and we’ll probably return. Only drawback was the rice was a la carte (50 cents for a small, 1 dollar for a large – which was VERY large). Pet Peeve!