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| - This place is a farce and a travesty... as are all over priced banquet style Thai places that place a premium on marketability at the expense of food taste and quality. It's the sort of place that fat English guys wanting to recreate their holiday in Pattaya or Koh Samui would go. Again, I go back to my rule about ethnic restaurants - the less people of that ethnicity you see patronizing the place the less likely you are to get a great meal.
Although they do serve authentic Isan food on their menu - they recreate it unfaithfully and only in shades of what you really get in Thailand. Isan, is a poorer, ethnic minority in Northeastern Thailand that is significantly influenced by Laos. True Isan food is amazing - usually eaten with hand fulls of sticky rice - larb (ground meat, mint, and lime) , som tum (papaya salad), gai yang (grilled chicken), and sai krok isan (isan sausage).
Any restaurant claiming to be the standard bearer of Isan food, should serve these dishes with mastery. Thai E-San does offer them, albeit at a ridiculous premium, but does so disappointingly.
It is sad to see such a great regional cuisine get such a terrible representative here in Phoenix. Save your money and go elsewhere... unless you are an English tourist in need of nostalgia... in which case, proceed with my blessing!
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