Sripraphai 2007-present

[FatTony]

They do serve beer.

Upthread, Megan posted a link to Sri's menu. You'd probably be fine with anything that doesn't say 'spicy' next to it. In terms of actual recommendations, Fat Guy's favorite Soy Sauce Noodles would qualify, as would my beloved Pork Leg With Mustard Greens Over Rice. I'm sure others could chime in here. I don't see a problem in needing non-spicy dishes there - except it might be boring to have to endure them while all the tongue-blistering excitement is happening at the other tables.

[Nathan]

one major word of warning (and this could well pose a problem with your group...assuming you're all Caucasian looking):

Sri, like many other restaurants, suffers from Caucasian Spice Syndrome (CSS)....if even one member of your group utters a word of hesitancy about spice..(i.e. something along the lines of "we like some spice...but not too spicy")....they'll give you barely any heat at all.

the only solution is to ask your spice-phobic members ahead of time to keep their mouths shut and promise to order them items that intrinsically have no heat. otherwise, they'll ruin it for the rest of you if they say a word.

I've yet to have had serious heat at any meal at Sri due to CSS.

Edited April 25, 2007 by Nathan (log)

[tazerowe]

one major word of warning (and this could well pose a problem with your group...assuming you're all Caucasian looking):

Sri, like many other restaurants, suffers from Caucasian Spice Syndrome (CSS)....if even one member of your group utters a word of hesitancy about spice..(i.e. something along the lines of "we like some spice...but not too spicy")....they'll give you barely any heat at all.

the only solution is to ask your spice-phobic members ahead of time to keep their mouths shut and promise to order them items that intrinsically have no heat.  otherwise, they'll ruin it for the rest of you if they say a word.

I've yet to have had serious heat at any meal at Sri due to CSS.

←

Yep, this is exactly why I was looking for dishes that naturally shouldn't have any heat, so we can order those plus the usuals and then ask for everything "thai spicy" (while stomping on my wife's foot so she can't show panic).

So, generally the menu stars are accurate? Pork and greens sound excellent. I don't need many things, but last time every single dish was spicy, so I have to hit at least a couple of things beyond just sticky rice.

[Nathan]

the pork leg with mustard greens is awesome and packs no heat at all.

the beef offal soup is mildly spiced and really good.

I think the bean thread salads usually don't have much if any...

[Sneakeater]

I loved -- LOVED -- the beef offal soup, but it made my lips hurt. I'm not sure I'd call it "mildly spiced". It has an afterkick.

Edited April 26, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[Eatmywords]

Yea, of course Nathan's exaggerating. The Offal soup (one of the best dishes on the menu) holds a fare amount of fire as does the bean thread salad w/ chick, shrimp and squid and the Southern style Curry.

I'll never understand the allure of super spicy food (whether you can handle it or not)

[Nathan]

the southern style curry had no heat whatsoever (a clear victim of CSS)!

our spice tolerances are just different.

[feedmec00kies]

Hi all! I went to Sripraphai with my family this evening for dinner, and I figured I'd add my 2 cents.

Warning: Prepare for the wordiness!!!

We ordered (and shared)...

Fried Soft Shell Crab with Shredded Green Mango Sauce - Good, IMO. Didn't seem overcooked or anything (Disclosure: I haven't had soft-shell crab until recently for whatever reason, but I have to admit that something about it bothers me on some level, which I haven't determined, so I might not be the best judge of it). Also, the menu online says spicy, but I didn't notice anything remarkable about it's heat. "Sauce", it should be noted, was just another salad-type thing with julienned green mangoes. I'd order it again... if I could just figure out and get past my "thing" about soft-shelled crabs.

Roasted Duck Salad - Also pretty good, though it could have used a little more duck (and a little thinner slices to match the other ingredients a little more, IM-neurotic-O). I'd probably order it again, or perhaps try one of the papaya salads or something; I very much enjoy these kinds of salad (and am partial to duck as prepared by Asians).

Beef Offal Soup - Great! Probably my favorite of the dishes we ordered. It was the spiciest of the dishes, and fortunately my family shared it because it was quite spicy (probably closer to or at where it should be) and my stomach has revolted against such things in the last year or so. I did turn to my sister and say "Less beef, more offal!" - I think that's because I wasn't expecting any sliced beef in it, and was actually hoping for more tripe (light on tripe, but lots of tasty.. tendons? I can't remember what the sort of firm gelatin-like textured thing is, but I'm pretty sure it's tendon... we ate quite a bit of it when I was in elementary school and we got it prepared from a Chinese market near us.) Definitely order it again, though perhaps (only perhaps, though) I'd ask to tone down the heat a little (I prefer to taste foods past the heat rather than die or burn a hole through my stomach, but I feel sacrilegious about toning it down sometimes).

Sauteed Drunken Noodles (we chose sliced beef) - I was actually not really impressed. My mom remarked, "It's not bad, but I prefer the Cantonese version better." I usually love (and I really mean love) those wide noodles, but the whole thing kind of was stuck together and somewhat unremarkable to me. I feel that there were a lot of things that could have improved about the dish, but maybe I'm missing something..? I'd most likely skip it next time.

Pan Fried Mussels with Bean Sprouts - I liked it. The main part of the dish kind of reminds me of Korean pancakes (the savory things that have scallions and seafood in them) because the mussels seem to be trapped in a very loose batter with a similar flavor (though these seemed to have fried in a little deeper oil). Mussels cooked properly (not overcooked). The bean sprouts are actually more tacked-on, since they aren't in the batter with the mussels but rather underneath and seem to be sauteed a bit before plated. I'd order it again.

Fried Fish with Curry Sauce (we chose whole red snapper) - I actually didn't find the fish quite so badly cooked as I got from other people's comments here, but I still don't think it's anything to write home about. The spices and seasoning was nice, but otherwise unremarkable. Probably wouldn't order it again; I'd rather find something that more piqued my interest.

Spiciness for us...

When I (as the family liaison, for whatever reason) was first asked "how spicy?" I said to the waitress "Uh, spicy is fine; just give us things at whatever level they're supposed to be at for the dish." I can't tell if we suffered from "CSS". All the dishes except for the mussels seem to be labeled "spicy" on the NY Mag menu. The beef offal soup was quite spicy, but but the others weren't very noticeably so. Maybe they were less spicy than the generic "spicy" marker on the NY Mag website? Perhaps, perhaps. Also, my mom is very clearly Asian, so I don't know if that was taken into account by the waitress or not. I don't really think it's that big a deal, honestly, unless it very clearly detracts from the dish - I don't think any of them were that kind of dish.

Service...

Yes, dishes kind of came on top of each other (beef offal soup, soft-shell crab, roasted duck salad, mussels, fish, noodles), but I don't really think that's a huge issue - we were ordering family style and I wasn't really thinking of any of them as "appetizers". Didn't really have much issue with service, either. They seemed quite nice, and although there were one or two minor snags, I'm not really bothered by service unless it's really terrible.

I honestly haven't had much Thai food (especially in the NYC metro area), so my views are based less on any idea of "good Thai" versus "bad Thai" and more on "good food" versus "bad food". this was only my first experience at Sripraphai, so I have nothing to report in comparison. I'd try it again - I'd switch dishes up a bit to try a few different things.

EDIT: Update on spiciness

I may have been mistaken; we ate the leftover fish from yesterday, and it is indeed spicy. Maybe the beef offal soup threw us off from tasting anything else?

Edited August 4, 2007 by feedmec00kies (log)

[Fat Guy]

There's a new dish on the specials menu (the one-sheet they distribute alongside the regular menu) that's quite good. It's a yellow curry with bone-in pieces of chicken, plus potatoes and onions.

[FatTony]

Just had lunch at Sri. Everything as good as ever. We tried a soup that's offered at lunch only (and doesn't appear to be on the menus posted on the internet). It was delicious enough that we ordered a second bowl. Largely at my instigation. The soup consisted of a thin broth (pork stock?), noodles, ground pork, scallions, pork balls and crushed peanuts. It was hot, sweet and sour and totally awe-inspiring. Re-reading what I've just written, I've failed to do the flavor of this fine soup justice. But you should try it. As far as I know it's the only soup with pork balls.

[Nathan]

yeah, all their soups are fantastic. I need to try that pork ball one.

last week I had that offal soup again...amazing.

[Vinotas]

This past Saturday we went to Sripraphai for what must be the umpteenth time. As usual, it was amazing, the flavors were just crisp and precise, the heat just right even if we did order too many spicy dishes, and service warm and welcoming.

Pics are HERE.

Cheers!

[Chris Amirault]

I ate my way through Chiang Mai for nearly two weeks last year, and Sripraphai can stand with the best of them. Lunch (ordered off the full menu) yesterday with Chris Hennes was great. Merely good drunken noodles -- note problems above, which were there but not to terrible effect -- but everything else was excellent. The ground pork soup with turnip greens was fantastic, an excellent pork stock supporting high-quality hog and greens. The chicken larb (made with thigh meat, I believe) was the best restaurant larb I've ever had, as was an outstanding eggplant and pork dish.

Fans of chile heat should be sure to say "Thai spicy" or something like that. We needed that soothing soup for the blistering larb, whereas a couple of guys at a nearby table were complaining that stuff wasn't hot enough.

[Vinotas]

I was there on Sunday with a group for brunch (we BYO'd) and the food was fantastic again. I can't recall any dish being below a "very good" grade, and I think of myself as a tough grader.

[Chris Hennes]

That larb was absolutely fantastic. The rest of the dishes were very good, but wow. The larb. Nice.

[tb86]

hmm pad thai, been here for 2 years now only had it twice.... ive seen it plenty of times in tourist spots, and eaten it once in nakhon suan supposedly the best in thailand and once at home, its for the tourists as far as i can tell, but what do i know.... peter when was the last time you were served pad thai in the los?

[jaynesb]

I haven't yet been to the restaurant but have read such great reviews about it here. They are opening a branch out on Long Island soon.

According to their website, they are opening a branch in Williston Park, NY

No phone number is listed on the website but I just spoke with someone in Queens who said that they are planning to open in a few weeks. (She said 2 weeks.)

New address and other info on website:

Sripraphai website

jayne