Thai Food Café

833 N. Killingsworth St., Portland, 97217

Shortly after this place opened, about a month ago, one of my roommates was walking by and happened to glance in through the window. To his surprise, a short woman standing behind the counter waved at him. Not wanting to be rude, my roommie waved back. The woman was quickly joined by a 50-something, silver-haired man, who beckoned my roommate to enter. Again, not wanting to be rude, and curious now about who these people were (did they recognize him from somewhere?), he entered.

Turns out the wavers were the restaurant's owners trying to get new people into their place. An interesting tactic. The roommate was on his way somewhere and couldn't stop to eat, but before jetting out the door he mumbled a promise to come back sometime.

As far as I know, the roommate hasn't returned to Thai Food Café to eat, but I've been in twice. Both times I had a joygasm over the Tom Kha soup, which is far better than the Pad Thai Kitchen's already excellent Tom Kha. Thai Food Café's mild chicken Tom Kha is flavorful, complex, and still spicy enough to make me sweat without setting my tongue on fire. How did they do that?!

The only other dish I've sampled is the Crab Fried Rice, which sounded excellent but was a disappointment to me. To be fair, the Crab Fried Rice is subtle and shouldn't have been tasted after I'd been slurping on the Tom Kha. But there also wasn't much fried about it, and the frozen Five Vegetable Medley in the rice put me off.

My dinner companion on my first visit, however, seemed quite happy with the salad rolls, and though she found the pumpkin in the pumpkin curry not cooked *quite* enough, she said she was glad at least that it was not overcooked.

I did enjoy the ambiance. It's kind of a funky, festive, cafeteria-style eatery, with plastic tablecloths, kitschy decor and bright colors everywhere...very appropriate to North Portland. The local jazz station plays at an acceptable volume that adds to the atmosphere without drowning out the patrons' voices.

They're open every day from 11am to 9pm, and with house specials like Flaming Beef (served on fire) and Evil Jungle Noodles, daily lunch specials for $6.50 and a bomb bowl of Tom Kah, this place is a decent choice for PCC Cascade students.

Pad Thai Kitchen

2309 SE Belmont St, Portland, 97214

Portland has a ton of good Thai restaurants, and this one runs with the pack.

Probably my favorite part about this restaurant is the preponderance of booths. I like booths. It also has a pleasant staff that serves the food up fast. The chicken Tom Ka soup we ordered (mild) was divine, and the chicken satay with peanut sauce was delicious.

On the down side, the Pad Thai Kitchen seemed a little on the expensive side to me. One appetizer, one salad, one soup, one main dish and a glass of wine came to $40. I seem to recall ordering similar amounts at other Portland-area Thai restaurants for almost half the price. Also, the shrimp on the main dish was a tad overcooked, which kind of ruins the shrimp experience for me.

The verdict: average-quality Thai food a little on the spendy side. If I were on Belmont and hankering for some Tom Ka, I'd come back to the Pad Thai Kitchen and pass on the wine to keep it under ten bucks.