Thai
BarBQ
730 Van Ness
Avenue/Eddy St., SF
Map
This Restaurant
Pretrial
hearing in Judge Vardigan's chambers
8/02/01
Turner
With
a name like Thai BBQ (or is that BarBQ?) I thought we were in for a sure-fire
winner. But when Judge Vardigan mentioned that he never saw anyone in
the place, I changed my expectations to surefire loser. In the end, I
guess it fell somewhere in between. Surefire mediocrity? Actually, that's
too harsh. They served up some highly edible chow. Just not stellar.
The Yum
Nuer (spicy beef salad with mint, onion, lime juice - $5.95) was okay,
even if the beef was a tad chewy. No fireworks there. The Thai BBQ Rolls
(chicken, glass noodles, veggies - $3.75) were puzzling as we could not
identify what was barbecued about them. We finally decided it was the
alleged chicken inside. The Pad Kee-Mao Goong (pan-fried spicy noodles
with shrimp and basil - $6.75) was adequate, I guess. But I'd say it was
with SKIMP and basil. Ha ha!! Because they skimped on the shrimp!! Get
it?! Woo!!
Anyway,
then came the BBQ meats: chicken (half a bird - $5.50) and pork spare
ribs (three big ones, I believe - $6.75). I must say both dishes were
quite respectable, and seasoned somewhat with something semi-interesting.
Spicy-sweet-orange-colored sauce to pour on. Not bad at all.
Which
pretty much sums up Thai BarBQ (the restaurant.) Not bad at all. Decent
prices, decent grub. If you're in the 'hood and tired of walking, give
it a go.
 Vardigan
Some
cases just don't seem worth trying. That's the nature of the judge business.
For every Suriya, Joe's
Cable Car, and Burma's House, you're bound
to have a Buster's. Or a Thai BBQ, which is
where we dined last week. An intriguing concept, Thai barbeque, and I
can't blame Judge McC for suggesting it.
I really
wanted this to be a new secret little gem, as it's just a few blocks from
my apartment. But I can't find any reason to recommend it over any other
Thai restaurant, that's for sure. For starters, Thai BBQ rolls had little
"barbeque" to them, and the chicken in there was as sparse as shrimp in
a Cajun Pacific po-boy.
As for
the main event, the BBQ, the ribs were pretty good, but there was nothing
to call it "Thai" besides a faint spice and dipping sauce. The chicken
was tasty, but again, just your average barbequed chicken, with some sauce
on the side.
When
it was over we walked outside and I shrugged my way home.
McClure
Well,
at Thai Bar B. Q. it's not the best Thai food I've tasted but not the
worst BBQ either. The dishes had a way of evening each other out to make
for one so-so dining experience.
We started
with the Yum Nuer (spicy beef salad) and the Thai BBQ Rolls. The salad
sounded nice but it was nothing special and the not-so-tender beef flank
it sported didn't help. The rolls were tasty but I'm still wondering where
they were hiding the BBQ'd chicken. Nevertheless, a crunchy fried roll
with dippin' sauce is always a treat.
Our first
entree was the Pad Kee-Mai Goong: pan fried spicy noodles with shrimp
and basil. The dish itself was pretty fine -- a bit of spiciness did liven
up the noodles. As far as the shrimp went, which wasn't far, there was
disappointment. Our count was five shrimp. Five shrimp for three Judges
-- that doesn't add up. A few more shrimp in the noodles won't break the
bank, or will it, hmm. The best part of the meal was the Thai Bar B.Q,
hence the name I suppose. The spice was subtle but I'm sure there was
something there to make it uniquely Thai. We had half a chicken and some
pork spare ribs. Both were delicious I must say -- tender chicken and
juicy pork.
If you
pop into Thai Bar B.Q., I recommend you pick your items wisely. Try the
BBQ and see what you think.
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