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| - It's always fun when you find that an unexpected connection to a longtime friend. That connection can be particularly delightful when you discover that said friend has a connection to a local restaurant. Growing up I've had friends whose families owned restaurants like Miracle Mile Deli, Luke's Sandwich Shop, Sing High and Posh just to name a few. Nevermind how much free food that meant I got to mooch (I always offered to pay for my meal for the record). Perhaps there's an extra trust factor when someone you know personally is running the show. Such is the case with Thai E-San. Pui and Rodger Pongtratic have owned this small CenPho spot since 2011 (and have run several other kitchens in the past). I actually grew up with their daughters Jan and April, but never knew their parents owned this place. Given the high Yelp marks and that personal connection to the Pongtratic family, it was about time for a Thai dinner here.
Located on the north side of Indian School Road just east of 7th Avenue, Thai E-San is a super relaxed space that can hold probably 70-80 people at full capacity. You'll see more than a fair amount of Thai decor on the walls along with lots of old red leather booths (and for some reason a wall of Christmas lights even in summer?). I got here at 5pm on a Wednesday and the dinner crowd was light, so I got a nice comfy booth to myself this go around. The food here is Thai, but more specifically geared towards northeastern Thailand (known as Isan) with some subtle Laotian and Cambodian influences. Truth be told I usually play it safe with Thai cuisine. Partly because I'm a wimp when it comes to spice but partly just because I love my standard Pad Thai or Drunken Noodle dishes.
Knowing that Jan and April would probably give me tons of grief (and maybe even dead arm) for playing it safe in their own parents' establishment, I decided to go outside the usual standard Thai faire. Fortunately, the menu labels their house specialities accordingly in case you're unsure what dishes stand out. But first, gotta have a Thai iced tea. Just a simple mix of tea, milk and sugar, but a nice creamy and slightly sweet drink nevertheless. And I was gonna need it to wash down all the food I ordered. For my app, I got the Angel Wings. Ground pork and chicken mixed together with noodles and herbs and then fried to create a drumstick-like appearance. The dish also comes with a cucumber sauce (I think I picked up vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, and some chilis in the sauce). For my main entree I went with another house speciality, the Thai E-San Sausage. FYI I believe the Thai term for this is type of sausage Sai Krok Isan. Basically a fermented sausage with pork, rice and a mix of herbs and spices. The entree was served with cucumber, lettuce, ginger, and peanuts. And of course you get a healthy helping of some of that sticky rice to bring it all together.
I was caught a little of guard not only by the fact that food came out to me so quickly (less than 5 minutes), but that they brought both my app and entree out simultaneously. Had the restaurant been full, I might've been embarrassed by the fact there was so much food put in front of me. Not that it would've stopped me of course. First the Angel Wings. By themselves the wings are just okay, but the cucumber sauce was fantastic. Dip those drumsticks into the sauce and you've got a winner for sure. Good portions of meat on each as well. Now for the sausage. This was a delightful surprise. Four big juicy links in all (pre-sliced for your convenience) that paired perfectly with the rice and the veggies that came with the dish. I'll cop to the fact that I probably screwed up the flow as I had no idea how to eat these items together (Do you wrap the sausage in the lettuce? Do you wrap it in rice? Both? Neither?), but it didn't matter. The sausage was excellent and the portion was plenty generous. I was stuffed with no room for dessert this go around, but very satisfied with my meal.
Total cost for the app, entree, tea, tax, and tip came to about $35. The service was incredibly friendly, super fast (I was in and out in just over a half hour), and the dishes really opened my eyes to a type of Thai cuisine I never knew existed. Big props to Rodger and Pui for labelling their menu accordingly so I knew which items to target outside of my usual comfort zone. Seriously, who do you know that goes to a Thai restaurant and falls in love with sausage? You know what, on second thought, don't answer that question.
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