teak thai cuisine

i know i wrote about teak not that long ago, but i wrote about eating sushi outside that time. so this time i'm going to write about eating thai food inside. so it's different... i guess...

book club was meeting up for dinner at teak so liberal foodie and i decided to meet early for drinks and to catch up. we sat at a table in the bar area where we enjoyed $2.50 kirin ichibans (happy hour is from 5-7... you get $2.50 drafts and well drinks and half off appetizers in the bar area only).

los shu mai

we also enjoyed listening to a bunch of middle aged white dudes sitting at the bar bitch about obama. it was hilarious. overheard: "i hope he really fucks up in his first year. i mean we are already in a trillion dollars of debt. so let's spend more! fucking liberals. fucking big government. if it gets any worse, i'm moving to canada." yes, my friend, if you hate liberals and big government, then canada is definitely the place for you. readers, i could not make this shit up if i tried.

el crispy duck

our group of seven got seated right away at 6:30 when we had made our reservation and our server was great. super friendly, patient, and did not mind at all that we were indecisive or slow. we started off with pork shu mai that beth f. treated us to as a celebration of her new job as the director of development at artworks. yay beth, yay artworks, and yay shu mai!

el pad thai

liberal foodie and avani also ordered a sushi roll, i forget what, which they thoroughly enjoyed if their devouring of it within five seconds of its arrival on the table is any indication. "how is the roll, you guys?" i asked. "mmmmmffff mmmmfff," they chomped.

el seafood delight

soon enough the main dishes started rolling in. of course we could not decide on just one thing so several of us decided to share. teak's thai food is just good. it's flavorful, all the veggies and meats are fresh, and they are not afraid to spice it up. if you order it a 10, you get a 10. i love that since i get really sick of restaurants that take one look at me and decide for me that i can't handle spicy. jerks!

el green curry

the atmosphere is casual and slightly dated, but also thai-ish feeling. it's funny. emma was like "this place is so funny, it's like all family friendly. i just wouldn't expect this in mt. adams." this was a compliment since she had brought henry with her and she felt totally comfortable nursing him at the table. it was true. there were little kids everywhere. however, there is enough space in the restaurant that you don't feel like the kid yelling and throwing pad thai across the room is going to interfere with your meal.

los spicy fried noodles

the one thing that kind of sucks about teak is the parking. they have one tiny lot (like maybe 6-8 spots) across the street from the restaurant, but otherwise you are stuck hunting for a spot in the wilds of mt. adams. that isn't fun for anyone but what can you do.

overall, teak is a basic and reliably delicious thai option with good service and reasonable prices (all entrees pictured were $11-16). they have a wait sometimes, but not (it seems) during the week. and they take reservations and can accommodate big, indecisive groups. there is nothing especially innovative or exciting on the menu... you'll find everything here at every other thai place in town. but teak knows what it is and doesn't try to do anything it's not, and it does a pretty damn good job of it.