Happy Songkran!

Happy Thai New Year's! Everybody will be celebrating Songkran, not just in Thailand but in Laos and Cambodia as well.

My Songkran resolution is to try to post to this blog at least once four times a week!

BIGGER & BETTER THAN EVER!!!

True Thai has finally finished our remodeling/expansion project. We’re still in the same location, but we now can seat up to 200 customers. Expect the lines to move much more quickly!

We also have a party room available for private parties and groups. Call us at 612 375-9942 to make a reservation for your special gathering of friends or family. We are available for club meetings, business groups, and gatherings of all kinds.

New restaurant hours are 11 am to 10 pm, Monday through Thursday, 11 am to 11 pm Friday and Saturday (closed on Sundays and major holidays). Eventually we plan to be open on Sundays, but not yet!

Closed Monday August 25th!

Please note that True Thai Restaurant will be closed on Monday, August 25, as we complete our year-long remodeling project. We are exanding into the space next door, and our table count will increase from 18 to 39! We will also have a room for private parties/banquets.

Key to this expansion will be our new, larger kitchen, allowing us to serve more customers in a timely manner.

We are very excited by the completion of this expansion, and look forward to reopening on Tuesday, August 26, bigger and better than ever.

Be sure to check this blog for further updates and maybe even some pictures!

New extended hours

For years now True Thai customers have been asking us to extend our hours of business. Well, we're still not open on Sundays, but from now on we'll be open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Monday – Thursday: 11 am – 9 pm

Friday – Saturday: 11 am – 11 pm

Sundays: CLOSED

And that gives you more time to enjoy our new menu sensation, Thai Potatoes, Country Style!

Hand-cut potatoes fried twice for a delightfully crispy treat, then served in a sweet & sassy sauce that will light up your tastebuds. A real palate pleaser for the meat and potatoes crowd!

Another award for Dara

Minnesota Monthly's Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl has just won a prestigious national journalism award for her food writing!

The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies announced its 2007 award winners yesterday....

Three stories selected from the canon of former staff writer Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl ("Then There Were None," "Port Is The Answer?," and "Colonel Mustard") were selected for top honors. Moskowitz Grumdahl took first place in the food writing category.

City Pages

Congratulations to Dara for another well deserved award, this one from her peers.

City Pages' Best Thai Restaurant

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Wow! Two years in a row? Thank you so much to City Pages for awarding us Best Thai Restaurant again, and thank you to their readers for voting us Best Takeout!

I'm not sure which of their new food critics to thank, but we certainly enjoyed reading this:

[C]ombining a warm but unpretentious dining environment with unapologetically engaging presentations of old favorites like pad thai ($9.95 with chicken, beef, or pork) and more offbeat selections such as the jerky-like Bangkok crispy sweet beef ($6.95), served with impeccably made sticky rice. A dish like pineapple curry ($9.95 with chicken, beef, or pork) sounds straightforward enough on the menu. But it seems to defy physics on the palate; despite its deep blend of spices and coconut milk base, it's refreshingly light, a soulfully elegant trip to Thailand in a bowl. True Thai? Most definitely, and damn good, to boot.

We have worked hard to improve every aspect of True Thai since last year, focusing on new, more authentic dishes, higher quality buffet items, more attentive service, a deeper appreciation for our regular customers, and a big, welcoming smile for newcomers.

The lines have been a little longer since City Pages' annual Best of issue came out on Wednesday, but the expansion work is continuing and we should be moving into our new, larger space by summer.

Thank you again to all of our customers who voted for us, and thank you to all of our new customers for giving us a try.

Pioneer Press mention

Thanks to Nancy Ngo for mentioning our in progress expansion in her Pioneer Press column today (third item). The quote from me is accurate, and yes, we do hope to be moved into the new space this summer and that should eliminate all the long lines on weekends.

Thanks again to all of our customers for making True Thai Restaurant a success!

Congratulations to Mpls-St Paul Magazine!

Mpls-St. Paul Magazine has been nominated for three [3!] 2008 National City and Regional Magazine awards, and Minnesota Monthly was nominated for an award as well!

No nominations for food writing (not this year, at least), but still very impressive.

Congratulations to all of our friends at both outstanding publications!

Valentine's Day thank you!

Thank you to all of you who stood in line last night to eat at True Thai with your loved one(s) to celebrate Valentine's Day. We served over 300 dine-in and takeout meals last night, making this the busiest evening we've ever had. We hope you enjoyed your evening at True Thai.



You'll be glad to know that we even had a couple of cookies left over for the staff to eat after we closed.

Zagat gives TT a thumbs up!

Our thanks to Zagat for their kind words. Thankfully the workmen are making progress with our expansion because we're running out of room on the walls for all of our awards!

And my apologies for not having updated this blog in some time. The holidays were very busy for True Thai, and now Valentine's Day is just around the corner. If you're thinking of a romantic dinner on February 14, now is the time to be making reservations (612 375-9942). As a special treat, I'll be baking up some homemade cookies for all our Valentine's Day guests!

New award!

The actual certificate is being framed and isn't on display yet, but the Ministry of Commerce of the Thai Royal Government has awarded True Thai Restaurant their Thai Select Seal of Approval for Thai Cuisine. (Note: this link goes to an Australian website. The program is more developed there, and there isn't a USA site yet, although that's coming.]


Our thanks to Mr. Rachane Potjanasuntorn, Director General of the Dept. of Export Promotion. We are very proud of this award because it is awarded for more than just the authenticity of our food.

“Thai Select” certifies that the food, the hospitality and the atmosphere of the restaurant is authentic.

I am grateful that the Royal Thai Government has committed itself to letting Americans know which U.S.-Thai restaurants reflect true Thai culture and dining standards. In the U.S., it is very common to hear people come back from a vacation to Italy and then comment on how Italian food is nothing like American Italian food. The Royal Thai Government understands this, and by giving their seal of approval, they are trying to help ensure that Americans and other non-Thai patrons of "Thai" restaurants learn the difference between Thai style food, and authentic Thai dishes.

Our expansion continues, but because of all the delays in getting into the new space, we don't know yet when the new, larger True Thai Restaurant will open. All I know is that when it does, the food, hospitality and ambience will all reflect true Thai culture. I love my country of birth, and will always strive to make True Thai as authentic as possible.

Pi-sed

A quick word about "authenticity." In Thai cooking, the emphasis is on fresh, tasty ingredients. When a chef goes to the market, it is always to find pi-sed (the best ingredients). As a result, Thai dishes prepared in America may use produce that wouldn't necessarily be used in Thailand. Carrots, for example.

The most common question I'm getting from customers lately is, "where do you get your red, yellow and white carrots?" Well, they come from our suppliers, and they're grown in California. They're crunchier than most carrots, which is why they're called "Rainbow Crunch Carrots." Rainbow is part of the name because these carrots come not just in orange, but also in white, yellow and red. Each day before our customers come in for lunch and dinner, our staff spends time carving flowers from these rainbow-hued carrots so we can make your entrée look more interesting and appetizing. (Parents know that True Thai works hard to trick children into eating vegetables, and we're finding that kids like red carrots better than orange ones!)

Do they use red carrots in Thailand? No, not yet. But Thai chefs are always looking for new ways to "improve" their presentations, and new, colorful vegetables quickly find their way into Thai dishes. Every time I fly back to Thailand my first question is, what's new?

At True Thai Restaurant, what's new is the carrots — they're not just orange anymore.