By Jim Duncan CVFDude@aol.com
Pad Thai’s missionary noodles
Naming a restaurant after a single dish has produced mixed results in Des Moines. Spaghetti’s, Crepes, and Philly Cheese Steaks didn’t last long here, yet Rice Bowl, Coney Island, Noodles and many Maid-Rites have all endured the fickle winds of taste. Pad Thai has a lot more going for it than food on a plate. Jutamas Roongsawang and Ekhasit Kittivirunwat’s new restaurant on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway is named for the national dish of Thailand, one that also represents sustainable economics, and making ends meet in hard times. Thailand Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram popularized the dish in the 1930s, much like Herbert Hoover did corned beef hash, to inspire citizens to stretch food budgets in the Depression. Wanting to wean his people off imported rice, Phibunsongkhram promoted the dish to encourage noodle making in a country with a wheat surplus. Pad Thai became a symbol of Thai nationalism and continues to gain popularity long after the Depression ended.
Chef Kittivirunwat, who came to Iowa after 15 years in Thai restaurants in Chicago, continues to export the gospel of the Thai noodle. Each time I dined at this bargain café, he visited tables recommending dishes and handing out discount coupons. Only three ($13) fish dinners broke through a $9 threshold on a menu that included nearly 150 items spread over eight pages, two different “chef’s special” placards, and a couple more signs on the wall. Menus differed, with cross outs and write-ins changing from one to another but don‘t get frustrated. If you’ve been to any other Thai restaurants in the metro, you‘ll find most of your favorite dishes at Pad Thai.
A special “chef’s sampler” of fried foods featured an Iowa-Thai take on tempura with chicken wings, shrimp, veggies and tamarind, all crisply fried golden. Two eggplant dishes I ordered were special, employing multiple, differently shaped Asian eggplants, correctly cooked with skins on to perfect tenderness before being treated to a marvelous fermented black bean sauce like one expects to find in top Cantonese restaurants in New York, Chicago and California. Beef options for most dishes delivered a tenderer cut of meat than usually found in town — brisket instead of shoulder, perhaps. Yum woon sen (chicken salad) mixed bean threads and fresh cilantro in a restrained sweet sour dressing. I loved the optional $1 sides of excellent cucumber salad and $1.50 sides of additional tofu or meat. I also appreciated that tilapia and catfish were interchangeable on any dish.
Other than that, most of what I tried had the same strengths and weaknesses usually found in Thai food here. Thai soups tom yum kai and tom ka kai included generous amounts of chicken breast, fresh mushrooms and zesty lemongrass flavorings but lacked an impressive stock. Peanut sauces were overwhelming, particularly on spring rolls stuffed with subtle things like tofu and eggs. Stir fried dishes “pad thai,” “pad thah” and “eggplant lover” included fresh herbs and fresh vegetables in strong “gravies” of fish sauce and coconut milk. Squid, even tenderized squid, was repeatedly too chewy. Heat levels (capsicum) were inconsistent — one three-star dish was much hotter than another four-star dish. Curries, made with coconut milk and pastes of chile, ginger and galangal, were more consistent. Mango with sticky rice was the best dessert I tried, with fabulously ripe, in-season mangos. A Thai custard resembled a Chinese bean cake.
Bottom line — Pad Thai lives the legacy of its name, providing a lot of very good food for very little money.
Side Dishes
Chef Chris van Tuyl has left Le Jardin to take the Executive Chef position at Occasions Made Right (OMR), the new catering division of Maid-Rite, Inc. OMR is the company’s template for full service catering, based out of remodeled Maid Rite kitchens, and encompasses everything from the Maid-Rite menu to European fine dining. 276-5448. CV
Caption: Eggplant Lover at Pad Thai, 3422 Martin Luther King Parkway, 277-7881. Hours are Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
