Pad thai, neighborhood comfort food

Everyone in New York has a favorite Thai place. It’s weird. Not their favorite burger joint, or preferred restaurant for chinese take-out, or even their go-to place for a slice of pizza. But everyone, it seems, has their favorite spot for Thai. It’s not always the best or the most authentic or even the most well known. Sometimes it’s just the one closest to home, or the one with the cheapest menu or the one with the fastest delivery.

I just moved into a new apartment, only about 10 blocks away from my old apartment, so pretty much still in the same neighborhood. The guy who lived here before us mentioned a couple of things about the places around our new home: which bars were good, where the nearest laundromat was and where his favorite Thai place was. “This will be your go-to Thai restaurant,” he told us matter-of-factly. It was literally across the street from the end of our block, about a 45 second walk from our front door.  Yet when we went, while it was nice and the food was decent, it just wasn’t my favorite Thai place.

My first night in the city, after just moving here from Italy, my then-roomate took me to Talent Thai, a small restaurant on 34th street in Murray Hill. Maybe it’s because eating there is now tied to the memory of moving to New York and all the excitement and anticipation of starting a new life in the city and everything that comes with it, but after that first night, Talent Thai became my go-to spot. Relatively cheap (most entrees, which are massive in size, cost around 10 bucks…a steal by New York standards), quick service, nice ambience, and delicious food, it’s everything I could ask for. Whenever I don’t feel like cooking, but I’m not sure what I feel like eating, I can always rely on Talent Thai. So even though there’s a much closer option, I’ll continue going to my old favorite, which thankfully is still only six blocks away.