When it comes to getting great Thai food, San Francisco and Los Angeles definitely have a leg up on the rest of the country. There are some seriously great Thai restaurants on the West Coast and I dont know if it is because there is a large Thai population here or because the competition among ethnic restaurants is so tough. Whatever the reason, West Coast diners are in luck when they have a craving for Thai or Vietnamese cuisine.
Another type of ethnic restaurant that you see a lot of in San Francisco are Vietnamese establishments. These diners are usually small and modest compared to the gigantic Chinese restaurants around town like Flower Lounge in San Bruno (near San Francisco) which used to have great food. Unfortunately some of these bigger restaurants lose the high quality of their preparation when they expand and become so large. The kitchens just cant handle the sheer volume of food that is coming out.
One of the best Vietnamese places is Pho Saigon located once again in Daly City near Westborough Avenue. They have very modest prices and their Pho soup is really fantastic and comes to the table very hot. Not all restaurants serve their soup hot and that is not acceptable to real soup lovers.
Which Thai place is actually the best Thai restaurant will be open to arguments back and forth, depending on where you live. I occasionally get out to Antioch which is about forty five minutes East of San Francisco. There is a small Vietnamese restaurant there call Da Nang that also serves Thai cuisine and is very good.
The best Thai restaurant in the city of Los Angeles is Thai Thani (like Titanic) in the beach suburb of Redondo Beach. This is a very pretty place and mid-sized. The menu is expansive and you can get all of your Thai favorites including lemon soup and Pad Thai noodles. You need to try their Thai iced tea which is very good. Their best dish is the stuffed crab item called Dearest Crab. This dish is really terrific and will have you coming back for more.
The best Thai restaurant in San Francisco is actually a chain called King of Thai Noodles and I have tried all of them. The best one in the group is the one located on Taraval Street out in the Sunset District. They have an open kitchen and the food comes out in just a few short minutes piping hot to your table. Everything is great there but you have to try one of the ten types of noodle soups they have. I always order the number five which is a huge noodle soup with fish cakes, fish balls, ground pork, cilantro, and chicken slices. Sounds like a lot but the flavors blend smoothly. Make sure and try their appetizers such as the spring rolls or their deep fried rolls. They also have these great little chicken or beef skewers that come with a peanut sauce for dipping. Their fried rice with Chinese Sausage is absolutely the best fried rice anywhere including Chinese restaurants. After dinner, if you still have room in your tummy, you should try the mango slices and sweet sticky rice dish.
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