Nothing to pooh-pooh
The first time I went to San Francisco (the first time I wasn't a toddler, at least), I passed by a Thai restaurant named Phuket, and had no idea how to properly pronounce its name. So when my curiosity got the better of me, I asked a waitress inside for some help.
"It's poo-ket," she said. "Like 'We need to poo.'"
"What?"
"We need to poo?"
And then I realized: she meant "Winnie the Pooh."
So my digression was pretty pointless, except that it's tangentially related to the fact that I'm happy to report that, since then, I've been able to experience a lot more Thai foods, including the food of Thailand's northeastern Isaan region.
Isaan food, on a very general level, is a bit more intense than its central counterpart, with more heat and sourness. If you're a fan of larb, you owe it to yourself to try a place that specializes in Isaan fare. Zabb, in the Woodside/Jackson Heights border, is a pretty good bet, and has a near-legendary catfish salad that's easily worth the hype. Relative newcomer Poodam's, on the eastern half of Astoria, makes a seafood papaya salad ($13) that, though simple, should be proud to compete against the likes of Zabb or even the venerated Sripraphai's best dishes. Crisp and well balanced, it features a generous portion of assorted crustaceans and cephalopods that are almost miraculously tender. Of course, they didn't go easy on the sourness or the spice, but the heat balanced the sourness just enough to bring out the dish's sweet undertone; definitely an example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
Not as thrilling was the basil duck ($13), which was so overcooked that it was almost dry (which is a hard thing to do with duck). The pla som (preserved fish, $9), though good and salty, wasn't as pungent as I had hoped it would be. Still, my companion and I both got the sense that the Isaan side of Poodam's menu was definitely the better bet; it certainly had the more intriguing options. I think that, next time, I might go for the fried morning glory.
Poodam's Thai (website)
44-19 Broadway, Queens (map)
(718) 278-3010
"It's poo-ket," she said. "Like 'We need to poo.'"
"What?"
"We need to poo?"
And then I realized: she meant "Winnie the Pooh."
So my digression was pretty pointless, except that it's tangentially related to the fact that I'm happy to report that, since then, I've been able to experience a lot more Thai foods, including the food of Thailand's northeastern Isaan region.
Isaan food, on a very general level, is a bit more intense than its central counterpart, with more heat and sourness. If you're a fan of larb, you owe it to yourself to try a place that specializes in Isaan fare. Zabb, in the Woodside/Jackson Heights border, is a pretty good bet, and has a near-legendary catfish salad that's easily worth the hype. Relative newcomer Poodam's, on the eastern half of Astoria, makes a seafood papaya salad ($13) that, though simple, should be proud to compete against the likes of Zabb or even the venerated Sripraphai's best dishes. Crisp and well balanced, it features a generous portion of assorted crustaceans and cephalopods that are almost miraculously tender. Of course, they didn't go easy on the sourness or the spice, but the heat balanced the sourness just enough to bring out the dish's sweet undertone; definitely an example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
Not as thrilling was the basil duck ($13), which was so overcooked that it was almost dry (which is a hard thing to do with duck). The pla som (preserved fish, $9), though good and salty, wasn't as pungent as I had hoped it would be. Still, my companion and I both got the sense that the Isaan side of Poodam's menu was definitely the better bet; it certainly had the more intriguing options. I think that, next time, I might go for the fried morning glory.
Poodam's Thai (website)
44-19 Broadway, Queens (map)
(718) 278-3010
posted by Dave Lee at 11:11 PM
3 Comments:
I had a laotian-style papaya salad the other day that is literally the hottest thing I've ever eaten. Somehow an Isaan place popped up in Thalwil, Switzerland, and I've accepted a post as their gringo-in-chief.
Two posts in the span of less than a week? Cool!
I'd rather have real poo
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