Thai food is pretty ubiquitous now, and while a succulent pad see ew or a cozy tom kha gai are wonderful and mouth-watering, most Thai dishes have started to taste a little safe. Maybe it's the fact that you can find red curries every few blocks, or that pad thai has replaced fried rice as a go-to take-out item when there's no time to cook. A unique Thai restaurant has become increasingly unicorn-like.
Which is why it's so great to hear that Chef Paul Singhapong of Bayleaf is planning to come out of semi-retirement to open CrushCart at 2800 Routh Street near the Quadrangle in December, with a menu modeled (and priced) on Bangkok street food. According to CultureMap, the new restaurant will be open until three or four in the morning and feature Thai omelets, pancakes, sausages and papaya salad.
See also: Dallas' Five Best New Restaurants of 2013
Work is underway to redo the old Baker Bros facing the Quadrangle, knocking down walls for an open kitchen and replacing exterior windows with sliding doors to give the whole restaurant a patio feel. It's safe to expect bold things from a man who at a special dinner last month prepared banana-wrapped scallops with curry and coconut, prawn mint and lemongrass ceviche and a sour fish head soup. And a good papaya salad is worth braving the bitterest cold.
