Land Thai Kitchen

[Daniel]

Went to a new restaurant called Land on the UWS.. The address is 450 Amsterdam around 80th. It has a very limited menu.. Its extremely narrow..

I have been a few times now and have been satisfied with my meal.. I would not say the place is excellent, but its definately a good neighborhood spot.. The spicy beef salad is a stand out.. Its extremely hot and the flank steak is prepared perfectly. The drunken noodles are shaped more like a spaghetti then flat noodles, but good still. I have also had the fried whole fish and the lamb in curry. Both not really stand outs, but on par with most decent thai places. I am looking forward to trying the duck.

The place doesnt have a liquor license so i ran to the deli next door.. .. All in all its a welcome addition to the UWS as is almost anything.

Edited March 30, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[SobaAddict70]

Sounds like a place for me to try.

Thanks for the rec. Will report back.

Soba

[JosephB]

I walked by this place the other day and thought to try it soon. The chef is reported to have come from Mercer Kitchen (Jean Georges Vongrichten).

[Pan]

[...]Both not really stand outs, but on par with most decent thai places.[...]

←

Daniel, what other Thai restaurants in Manhattan do you consider decent, by way of comparison?

[Daniel]

Hi Pan,

In terms of decent thai places in Manhattan, with the exception of Pooket, which i consider a little lower then decent, i havent been any.. I normally go to Sripraprhai or Wondee of Siam.. I have been to Klong as well.. I would place them in that order from best to worst. But all better then decent.

The majority of my decent thai experience has been in Jersey.. From East Brunswick, South River, North Brunswick and Edison. My mother is a huge fan and have been to close to 10. Two of them i would consider really good.

Basically, my main criticism about this place is if you want a fried fish your only option is sweet and sour.. I prefer a garlic myself or just the option to choose.. The same goes for the lamb curry.. It is the only curry option on the menu, and its good, but not great.. Not overly spicy, a little to coconut milky for me.. So its good for a quick thai fix.

[Pan]

The last time I got delivery from Klong, I found it less than decent (distinctly old-tasting, tough shrimp), but that's beside the point. The reason I asked you the question I did is that I think good Thai food is slim pickings in Manhattan these days.

Edited April 2, 2005 by Pan (log)

[Daniel]

I have heard the same complaint and that is why i dont venture too much in terms of thai.. I know i love Sripra and go often.. I went to Klong once and this was after fatguy first discovered it.. I thought it was good. I havent been back since.

[Megan Blocker]

Went to Land last night for dinner...my friend lives in the neighborhood, and we'd heard that the food here was pretty good. We weren't disappointed...though it's certainly not the best Thai food I've ever had (my heart belongs to Sripraphai), it was a good meal, and very reasonable to boot!

They now have their liquor license, and we both had a couple glasses of wine - Riseling for me, Cabernet Sauvignon for Cristin. It's a teeny, narrow space, but it's stylish and comfortable.

We started with two appetrizers, the root vegetable spring rolls, which were excellent, and a special shrimp salad - shrimp with tomatoes, lemongrass, chilies, scallions, shallots, cilantro, tiny mache, and a few other things. It was delicious, very fresh and bright, and spicy. I will say that the menu and the spice levels are very Americanized - my main had three stars next to it (the spiciest on the menu), and I had no problems. Which means it's just not THAT spicy.

My main was the basil beef with chilies. Not the best I've had (the meat was actually a little tough), but pretty good. We also got some sticky rice (served in a banana leaf) and an order of the pea shoots sauteed in garlic, which were delicious.

Cristin had the shrimp with cashews, which was really good. Sweet and salty.

With two glasses of wine each, and including tax and tip, the meal came to about $45 each, a pretty decent deal.