442. Go! Sy Thai – October 27, 2019 – Detroit, MI

Go! Sy Thai was bustling during my Sunday evening visit a few weeks ago – and for good reason. The Cass Corridor-based, fast-casual iteration of local restaurant chain Sy Thai proffers tasty food in plentiful portions.

Take the Curry Noodle dish that I ordered: it yielded two full meals for me – and then some (and I’m – by most people in my life’s considerations – an eater; I don’t mess around!).

This Curry Noodle dish was not only abundant in size, it was also supremely delicious with its richly flavored red coconut curry sauce slathering weighty rice noodles, fresh green onion and bean sprouts, crushed peanut, and the tender chunks of beef I opted for as my protein (I also chose to get the dish sans the egg it usually comes with).

At Go! Sy Thai, you order at the counter and wait for your food to be called out when it’s ready. The overhead menu showcases an ample list of offerings: classic Thai soups, small plates, and rice and noodle dishes.

For entrée dishes, you select the protein you’d like to be included (beef, chicken, shrimp, or tofu – or a vegetable mix in place of protein) and your desired spice level (Mild, Medium, Hot, X Hot, or Top of the Line).

For the spice level for my Curry Noodle with beef, I selected X Hot and was pleased with it: it was definitely hot in the way that I love, but it wasn’t so spicy that it was rendered inedible (a nearly nonexistent occurrence for me, the person who literally dumps cayenne pepper all over her popcorn – but STILL, props to Go! Sy Thai for rating their spice levels accurately! I know that when it comes down to it, spice level is subjective, but some places get it SO obviously wrong).

Another fun fact about this location of Go! Sy Thai: it’s neighbor to another local goodie, Tou & Mai; the establishments are connected by a short corridor. Tasty, plentifully-portioned Thai food and boba tea mere steps from one another is a set-up I can certainly get behind!

4240 Cass Ave., Ste. 103

Detroit, MI 48201

(with an additional Detroit location on Griswold St.)

www.gosythai.com

307. Thai Street Kitchen – February 14, 2018 – Bloomfield Hills, MI

Today’s post recounts a visit made on Valentine’s Day, which was already almost two weeks ago.

Valentine’s Day was two weeks ago? We are at the end of February already? Where has the year gone????

2018 is melting away faster than snow melting in a thaw. And yet, I can’t say I’m sad about it.

To say winter is my least favorite season is an understatement. But it also realistically makes up a third of our year here in Michigan, so I work with being in the moment every day and loving where we’re at seasonally. And also, I am thrilled that it’s almost March. We’re GONNA make it, people!

Delightful times like this most recent Valentine’s Day make it so much easier for me to love where we’re at in the throes of almost-gone-but-still-here winter. On that day, I got to see my dear friend from Mt. Pleasant and have dinner with her at Thai Street Kitchen in Bloomfield Hills when she was down here dropping her husband off at the airport. We got to be Galentines!

In case you ever need a Metro-Detroit meeting point that is right off I-75, may I suggest Thai Street Kitchen? It’s conveniently located near the expressway, on Woodward Avenue near Square Lake Road and the I-75 Square Lake exit (and a few minutes from the M-59 I-75 exit). More importantly, its food is tasty.

During my visit, I enjoyed an order of beef curry noodles that was deliciously creamy and perfectly spiced – actually hot like I ordered it. So many Thai restaurants seem to not believe me when I say I like it HOT! (or have a more watered-down definition of hot than I do). Not so with Thai Street Kitchen; they brought the heat perfectly, and the server even left a spice tray on the table in case I wanted to add more (which wasn’t necessary given that the dish was perfect as-is).

Despite it being Valentine’s Day, Thai Street kitchen’s small, pleasant dining room was not especially busy. I expect the place gets more carryout business than dining-in patrons, but the orange-hued interior with ornate designs painted on the walls is elegant and cozy.

The restaurant’s menu contains iconic Thai dishes such as the Curry Noodles, Drunken Noodle, and everybody’s favorite, Pad Thai, plus soups like the classic Hot and Sour and appetizers such as Chicken Satay and Spring Rolls. A selection of organic teas are also offered.

Service was prompt and attentive. When my friend commented to our waiter at the end of the meal that her dish wasn’t quite what she expected, the chef came out and offered to cook her a new plate of whatever she wanted for free. I was quite impressed by that. It’s basic customer service, but not every restaurant will insist on cooking a new dish free of charge for a guest at the end of a meal.

Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, or any other day of the year: Thai Street Kitchen, you are a keeper in my book!

42805 Woodward Ave.

Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304

www.thaistreetkitchen.com

225. Katoi – January 18, 2017 – Detroit, MI

The first half of January, I didn’t do any exploring – I was too busy recovering from the busy holiday season and acclimating to 2017, I guess! I’d been dying to get down to Detroit for weeks and weeks, and I was there to see Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Fisher Theatre the week after New Year’s – but alas, no exploring of new places occurred then (the neighborhood around Fisher Theatre is sorely lacking in restaurants and bars –  local restaurateurs, scope it out!). So I was psyched to have an excuse to go downtown again on the 18th – not only because I was going to the Red Wings/Bruins game thanks to a generous friend who gifted me a ticket for Christmas, but also because I knew we’d be trying at least one new place (yay to friends who are open to exploring!).

I was especially enthused when my friend said she was down for dining at Katoi. The Thai restaurant, which opened last year, had been on my radar thanks to a coworker who is supplying the restaurant with her free-range, organic pork. She’d praised the creativity and skill of the head chef and commented on the unique space that housed the restaurant.

Apparently, I wasn’t paying enough attention when she spoke about the building, because I didn’t realize that Katoi is housed in what appears to be a former auto shop. It’s also on a stretch of Michigan Avenue in Corktown that’s less lively than the strip that houses Sugar House and Slow’s and Astro Coffee and Gold Cash Gold about a third of a mile down. Perhaps the desolation I felt was summoned by the GPS navigating us off of Michigan Ave. to the trash-strewn alley behind the restaurant, telling us that we had arrived . . . yeah, NO, GPS.

At any rate, the outside of Katoi is nondescript and deceptive, belying the awesomeness that is inside. Stepping across the threshold of this former industrial building, I stepped into – what else? – a trendy, intimate dining space, all exposed brick, frosted glass, and colorful lighting. Like so many other buildings in Detroit, this one has been reborn into something completely different from what it once was. I never tire of discovering the various incarnations of this city. The repurposing, the creativity – it’s so exciting!

The menu presented so many intriguing options that it was hard to select only a few. Most dishes were more like small plates than full-blown entrees, so my friend and I ended up sharing four: the Stir-Fried Brussels Sprouts with a cashew cream sauce, the nuanced Thrice Cooked Sweet Potatoes, the spicy Drunken Pastrami Noodles, and the meaty Crispy Spareribs coated with a caramel fish sauce crust. All were delicious, but the vegetable dishes were our hands-down faves; they were so flavorful! My friend and I were like, “We need someone to cook us vegetables this delicious every day!”

We also had some KILLER cocktails whose names I neglected to take note of. Mine was pink, grapefruit-infused, flavorful, and strong.

When we left Katoi around 6:45 to head to the Joe, the tiny waiting area was packed, and the lot, alleyway, and street outside the restaurant were littered with cars parked every-which-way. Not a bad draw for a Wednesday night in the middle of winter!

2520 Michigan Ave.

Detroit, MI 48216

www.katoidetroit.com

 

209. Pho Tai – November 26, 2016 – Madison Heights, MI

Pho Tai’s beef Pattani curry dish

Hello, everyone! I hope you are doing excellently on this Thursday and first day of December! Can you believe we’re in the last month of the year already? I definitely cannot. The holiday season is a wonderful time, but it’s a hectic time, and I’m not sure I’m quite ready for it. I’ve got to eeeease into it. I’ve got to simplify it. Online shopping and saying no to invites that don’t thrill me are my staple survival mechanisms at this time of year. And cookies – lots and lots of holiday cookies!

Saying yes to things that I love – such as exploring – is another way I keep myself sane. Last weekend, I was fortunate to have an opportunity to get out and try a new-to-me restaurant when I went bridal dress shopping in Madison Heights with my friend whose upcoming wedding I’ll be in (she didn’t find The Dress, but hopefully soon!). Afterwards, we lunched at a wonderful locally-owned establishment, Pho Tai.

If you aren’t familiar with it, Madison Heights boasts a plethora of restaurants and markets that are Asian-influenced, with Vietnamese and Thai cuisines especially represented. Pho Tai is a hybrid – it offers dishes from both ethnicities! So decisions, decisions when you dine there! Do you want pho, with its delicious slurpy brothiness and long noodles, or Pad Thai, with that irresistible spiciness and crushed peanuts? A pork vermicelli bowl or Drunken Noodles? Enticing choices abound!

After much deliberation, I went with a Thai dish, Pattani, with beef, a coconut curry sauce, a variety of vegetables (including my absolute fave, baby corn – LOVE those cuties!), cashews, and rice. It was excellent! My only critique is that I asked for the spice level to be hot, and from my perspective, it was definitely more of a medium. I like my spicy food SPICY! I want my tongue to burn and my nose to run; I’m one of those people. I’ve gotta think that Pho Tai’s kitchen can offer up that kind of power, but maybe that heat level is categorized under another designation, such as “extra hot.” Regardless, the coconut curry sauce had great flavor – and I’m sure my digestive track was happy I didn’t get the intensity I wanted!

Service was great at Pho Tai; our waitress was very pleasant and present, and our food arrived quickly. Prices were reasonable, too. Worth mentioning: Pho Tai offers alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, and liquor). Helpful to know, right? When you need respite from the chaos of the season, ducking into this joint for some hearty, flavorful sustenance is a much-recommended remedy.

30577 Dequindre Rd.

Madison Heights, MI 48071

www.photaimi.com

 

113. Bangkok Café – April 8, 2015 – Ferndale, MI

I’m one of those people who always order pad Thai at Thai restaurants. Yes, part of me worries about being seen as unoriginal and boring, but ultimately I figure, why mess with a good thing? A visit to the Bangkok Café yesterday, however, compelled me to step away from my little safe zone. The chicken panang dish, with its spicy coconut-milk curry sauce flavored with lime leaves, sounded too delicious to pass up. So I gave it a try – and it was awesome! I can’t see myself deserting pad Thai permanently, but it was nice to change it up a bit. And it was nice to visit Bangkok Café, with its quick, friendly service and very affordable prices.

323 W. 9 Mi. Rd.

Ferndale, MI 48220

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112. Satay House – March 28, 2015 – Madison Heights, MI

Pineapple chicken with rice – yum!

My lunch at Satay House Saturday occurred amidst bummer circumstances. I had asked a friend that morning if she’d like to meet me at this Malay-Thai-Chinese restaurant for an impromptu lunch – and then she got in a car accident on the way there! She was okay, fortunately, but her car was not. So I ended up eating lunch alone, and I couldn’t shake the sadness regarding what had happened to her. At least my pineapple chicken with rice ended up being excellent. It took quite a while, but when it came out piping-hot and delicious it was worth it. My friend and I will have to stage a do-over and come back here. Thank God she was okay!

31101 Dequindre Rd.

Madison Heights, MI 48071

http://www.satayhousemadisonheights.com/

44. TN Thai Bistro – April 18, 2014 – Grosse Pointe, MI

So this is why you don’t get three months behind on a blog: I forgot about this place! It suddenly hit me today when I was scrolling through my posts that I had never logged my visit to TN Thai Bistro in Grosse Pointe, way back in April. I’m so bummed that I forgot about it, because now the posts are out of order. In case anyone beside me cares, this should actually be #16 on my list.

What do I remember about the visit? The pad Thai was delicious!

17100 Kercheval Ave.
Grosse Pointe, MI 48230