Sunday, July 10, 2011

Day 5: Pad Thai, now with better pictures

Today I found myself craving something filling and different.  The result was a classic American version of Thai food, Pad Thai.  This particular serving made its way to me via a restaurant in one of the many strip malls just off Route 29 going in and out of Charlottesville.  The rather imaginatively named Thai '99 has been the site a several different meals for me in the past, but for Day 5 I went for the Thai dish that almost every American knows.  The classic combination of noodles, bean sprouts, tamarind paste, fish sauce and of course, crumbled peanuts forms the baseline for the meld of sour, salty, spicy, sweet that makes up this dish.  Personally, I'm a big fan of the addition of shrimp to the standard pad thai base and as you can see above, had that mixed in with mine.  As I'm sure you can also tell from above, I was hungry and the meal was delicious.  As soon as it was set down in front of me I dug in, forgetting for a few minutes that I needed a photo to toss up here.  It was wonderful, and definitely something I need to figure out how to replicate for myself.
In spite of its unassuming location and exterior Thai '99 provided a delicious meal and a great atmosphere inside.  The food was a perfectly balanced combination of sweet, salty, spicy, sour on a filling, delicious bed of noodles.  I'm certain that at some point during the year I'll find my way back here to try some of their other dishes, and I'm certainly looking forward to it.

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