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April 14, 2006
Tarn Tip Thai Cuisine
I have been to half a dozen Thai restaurants up and down I-5, and I find it odd that Corvallis (a reasonably small, college town) would have the best Thai I’ve ever had. Nonetheless, it is true. For the pad thai lovers, or the more adventurous, Tarn Tip is the place for Thai.
If you are new to Thai food (or Asian food in general), I always recommend the pad thai. It’s a simple, easy, noodle dish that everyone seems to like it. Basically, if you LOATHE pad thai, you probably won’t want to try anything else on the menu. Unless you know you like curry –and if you know that, why wouldn’t you just get the curry?
There’s a good selection of curry. Yellow, red, potatoes, beef, chicken, shrimp, tofu, spicy, not so spicy.... With rice on the side, it’s a great choice. I went for the yellow curry (because I love the potatoes), and asked for pineapples. Yes, it’s true, cooked pineapples in curry is good! Try it sometime, you may be pleasantly surprised. With a lot of potatoes, chicken, pineapple, and a few carrots, I munched up my curry quickly.
The boyfriend likes his food spicy and unique.
Boyfriend: “I want something spicy.”
Me: “Then, get something spicy.”
Boyfriend: “I don’t know what to get!”
Me: “The menu has a symbol for the items that are the MOST spicy. Get one of those.”
Boyfriend: “There are only two items that are VERY spicy. Which one should I get?”
Me: “Either one. They both sound good.”
Boyfriend: “I can’t decide.”
Me: “Get both?”
Boyfriend: “Really?”
Me: “Yeah, really.”
First, he ordered the cold seafood salad. This didn’t sound too spicy, but the waitress assured him that it was. “You sure you want this?” the waitress asked. He nodded. “You have it before?” the waitress asked again, in broken English. This time we both shook our heads, but quickly set her at ease by saying we were sure to enjoy it. When we ordered the spicy chicken quartered, she again asked if we were sure, because “it’s extra spicy.”
The cold seafood salad came… cold and spicy with an after-taste of lime. We weren’t sure how to tackle it, but eventually, we decided it was more like a bunch of mini-wraps instead of a salad. We wrapped the spicy seafood in the individual lettuce slices.
Want a closer look?
Then, the spicy chicken quartered...
It does look foreign and a bit scary to tackle at first, but then you find out that it’s spicy and SO good. I’ll admit that the meat can be hard to get to, and sometimes I don’t know whether I am chewing on grilled skin or chicken bone, but it’s a tasty treat.
The waitress gives you a silver dish of warm rice and two empty plates with your meal. It is common in Thai culture to get food from the dishes (and rice) to put on your own dish, so you can share all the dishes.
2535 NW Monroe Ave
Corvallis, OR 97330
757-8906
Posted by Stacy on April 14, 2006 02:42 PM | Filed In: Food
