Fresh Thaiqueria: 'Thai flavors with mucho love for the Mexican cuisine'

A new Thai-Mexican fusion place recently opened in Carrollton — Fresh Thaiqueria, which is the kind of fun wordplay that we appreciate. Wanting to see what sort of food these logophiles could produce, we decided to drop in for a quick lunch the other day.

This small spot in a small strip mall is the brainchild of chef/owner Sirawit Thanomsap who, along with cousin Pete Chertchusa, who works the front of the house, wanted to create a tribute to their forebears, specifically grandpa and grandma.

Grandpa operated a noodle shop in Thailand for years, and grandma helped sell noodles from a cart from the age of 8. She kept the noodle business going until all of her kids graduated from college.
The family photos are front and center on the counter, the newest generation clearly honoring the past as they attempt to bring “Thai flavors with mucho love for the Mexican cuisine” to their restaurant.

The menu contains many classic Thai favorites such as Thai fried rice, red and yellow curry, tom yum soup, drunken noodle, braised beef soup, pad Thai and Khao soi, as well as several fusion creations including a couple of burritos and two taco plates.
To start, however, we went with something neither Thai nor Mexican: dirty tater tots. These are topped with either spicy Thai crema or tom yum mayo, along with cheese, Sriracha and green onion. You can add some protein for an extra charge.

It was a good-sized portion and spicier than we were expecting, which is a good thing. An interesting appetizer choice to be sure, but a more traditional vegetable egg roll is available as well.
Our fusion choice was the queso curry taco plate. This is three tacos with grilled chicken, curried tofu or birria, with cheese and house-made garlic chili oil. This is served with a yellow or red curry dip on the side and pickled onions. We went with grilled chicken and red curry.

The curry dipping sauce was wonderfully flavored with a hint of coconut, full and rich, and a great complement to the slightly crispy corn tortilla tacos filled with chopped grilled chicken and white queso.

The other taco option is the Thai queso birria, with cheese, onions, garlic chili oil and a side of Thai braised beef consommé for dipping.
We honored the past generations by also ordering a bowl of grandpa’s beef noodle soup. You have a choice of rice noodles or yellow (egg) noodles, and braised beef shank or beef birria as the protein. Yellow noodle with birria was recommended, so that’s what we got.

It arrived in a large bowl, piping hot, with chopped lettuce, chili oil and green onions added. The birria was plentiful and tender, the noodles the right amount of chew, the broth rich and complex but not overpowering.
As we finished the tacos, we still had plenty of delicious red curry dipping sauce left over. Not wanting that to go to waste, we were offered some jasmine rice to add to the leftover curry sauce. it was a delicious way to finish off the curry. Chef Sirawit also made an appearance at our table mid-meal to make sure things were going well. Clearly, these guys are thinking of their customers and want their food to be enjoyed to the fullest.

There are a couple of other fusion burrito options to consider: the khao-SoiRito with yellow noodles, northern Thai curry sauce and pickled slaw, or the pad-ThaiRito, which is stuffed with rice noodles, egg, onions, bean sprouts and pickled slaw with grilled chicken, curried tofu or beef birria.

Oh, we’ll be back. They've made grandpa proud.