Besides coffee, Seattle-ites seem to love the South East Asian cuisine. The ubiquitous Vietnamese pho joints and Thai restaurants provide excellent cheap eats for cheapskates like myself. As always, some are better than others, so here are the ones that are worth every lemongrass and basil.

Pho Cyclo , 406 Broadway East, Capitol Hill, has a very basic menu of pho, rice, and noodle dishes. Add an order of spring rolls to any of the entrees, and wash it down with a Vietnamese iced coffee to stuff yourself silly.

Than Brothers Restaurant, multiple locations, is a family-run chain of bare-bones pho only restaurants. Seat yourself, then choose between chicken, beef, or veggies to top off your bowl. If you opt for beef, you get to choose again from a long list of edible cow parts that include Vietnamese specialties like tendon and tripe. Pho’ Shizzle!

Kwanjai Thai, 469 North 36th Street, Fremont, is near the end of the main drag or North 36th Street in Fremont. It’s housed inside, well… a house. You might even feel like you’re a guest at the house. The menu is the usual pad thai, pad see ew. Seafood items are market prices so expect to pay more for those. For about $10, you’ll have a decent meal and plenty of cash leftover for a pint or 2 at the many nearby bars.

[photo by: Federico Mena-Quintero]

When Iben dropped me a line to head to Woodside for Thai food, I was somewhat disappointed at the choice of cuisine since I had dinner a couple days ago. He made a point that it’s imperative for us to show up by 6pm for dinner, and promised the most outstanding Thai food this side of Bangkok. So sure, why not? If for no other reason to drop by Woodside, good food is good enough for me to go. We got to the
Sripraphai a little after 6, and the place was already packed. It reminded me a bit of the old Planet Thai in Willy’B. The 1 hour wait for a table for 4 gave us plenty of time to peruse and drool over the extensive menu. It’s not just pad thai and red curry. We skipped the usual pad thai and curry and opted for a fried snapper (with the head attached), spicy beef kebabs, curried tofu, chinese vegetables, and shrimp noodles. You can get thai food almost anywhere in town, just not this kind of thai food.

[Sripraphai: 6413 39th Ave (Between 64th Street and 65th Street)
Woodside, NY 11377]
[photo by: foodite]

When Time Out New York recommended skipping out on Blue Ribbon and head to Taro Sushi over at Dean Street, we just had to give it a try. The place reminded us a bit of Japan. It is small, it is cramped, it is packed, it is a bit rushed, and the sushi was great. The chef was a bit stingy with the fish, however. There were even a few offerings from the Tsukiji market that brought back some fond, delicious memories of 7am sushi. The biggest disappointment, however, was their decision to place a set of California rolls in the sushi and sashimi combination platter. Don’t be turned off by the long line of waiting patrons as the tables are turned around rather quickly. As for the alternative to Blue Ribbon label, yeah, the food is right up there, but without the hefty price tag.

[Taro Sushi, 446 Dean St (Cross Street: Flatbush Avenue) Brooklyn, NY 11217]

[photo by: adlaw/flickr]

Mexican food is always a great standby when I’m hungry and just not in the mood for any other cuisine. It’s cheap, and so filling that it sits in your stomach long enough to skip out the next meal. With Mexican food, you pretty much know what you are getting. All dishes is some kind or combination of rice, beans, cheese, veggies, and meat wrapped in various sizes of tortillas. While there are so many Mex-joints to choose from, Tacos Nuevo Mexico is the real deal, serving octopus salads, Oaxaqueño tamales, and lengua (tongue) tacos alongside the usual quesadillas, enchiladas, and burritos. In its modest space in Park Slope, Mexican families rub elbows with the usual Park Slope set, chowing down massive portions while glancing up to watch a bit of Telemundo. Do however, resist the urge to dance when a rump shaking tune is blasted off the jukebox. For a complete Mexican experience, hit the bar next door for a michelada.

[Tacos Nuevo Mexico, 489-491 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, btwn 11th & 12th]

To the uninitiated, the dim sum experience can be quite a harrowing experience so much so that it can completely turn someone off the entire eating experience. Along with the language barrier, perceived rude service, unfamiliar cuisine, impatient waiters, and often times shared tables, there is also an overwhelming amount of restaurants offering dim sum. The old adage of dining where the Chinese dine no longer applies, as every joint is jam-packed with Chinese folks. Here are our favorites that dim sum pros and neophytes alike can appreciate.

Linden Place in Flushing offers all the creature comforts not often associated with a typical Chinese restaurant. There is free valet parking, non-shared tables, and a helpful English-speaking staff. While you are sipping cups of tea and chowing down ha-gow, and the requisit cha-siu baos, you can admire the interior that’s leftover from what must’ve been a Italian-American catering hall. (Linden Place Restaurant, 34-20 Linden Place, Flushing, NY)

Sun Ming Gee is conveniently located on 6th Avenue in Brooklyn’s Chinatown, off the BQE and two avenues from the N train. The shrimp rice noodle (cheung fun) is a one of the best in the area. The massive portions of rice and noodle items on the menu are enough to fill you, quite literally, to next Tuesday. Spoil yourself with the e-fu noodles with crab. (Sun Ming Gee, 618 62nd Street, Brooklyn, NY)

Dragon Palace is a David to the Goliath dim sum joints in the surrounding area. Skip the massive Jin Fong Palace, Golden Bridge, or the guidebook listed HSF, for the more cozy digs. Along with the dim sum staples, be adventurous and try as many dishes rolled off the carts as your budget will allow. If that’s not enough, there is also a made to order buffet table offering snails, clams, turnip cake, and stuffed green peppers. (Dragon Palace, 202 Centre Street, New York, NY)

Vegetarian Dim Sum Restaurant offers a respite from the squishiness of live fish and animal carcasses hanging in the windows of the many storefronts in Chinatown. Vegetarians will delight in the fact that they can dine guilt-free, while carnivores will wonder how gluten and soy can resemble a bit of meat. The crowd is a mix of elderly Chinese, TimeOut NY-toting hipsters, and every now and then a Beastie Boy.(Vegetarian Dim Sum Restaurant, 24 Pell Street, New York, NY)

[photo by: wireguy/flickr]

And boy do I love a good 24 Hour diner. Eating on the big day, thankfully, isn’t only fruitcake and eggnog, and whatever you can heat up from last night. The past few years, we’ve had Christmas dinner at everyone’s favorite all nighter Ukranian restaurant in East Village, Veselka. The stuffed cabbage and mushroom barley taste extra swellicious when the joint is packed, and Second Avenue is pretty much car and pedestrian-free at around 9 or 10pm at night.

The daytime is spent weaving through Chinatown, then waiting patiently for a shared table for some dim sum. Sure bets in the Manhattan enclave are Jin Fong, Golden Bridge, and the new Harmony Palace. If you’re in Queens, hit any of the three East Buffet restaurants or try out the former Italian catering hall Linden Place. Chinatowns are always bustling so you would never know that it’s a holiday and that no one is working. Plus, there’s always something eye catching like the squishy, live stuff at the numerous wet markets.
[Veselka, 144 2nd Ave, New York, NY]
[Jin Fong, 18 Elizabeth St, New York, NY]
[Golden Bridge, 50 Bowery, New York, NY]
[New Harmony Palace, 94 Mott St, New York, NY]
[East Buffet & Manor, 4207 Main St, Flushing, NY; 645 Kissena Blvd,
Flushing, NY; 79-17 Albion Ave, Elmhurst, NY]
[Linden Place, 420 Linden Pl, Flushing, NY]