Thai Cook (at iCook)

THAILAND 🇹🇭

With only some notes in the city's Thai Facebook groups, a tiny sandwich board outside, and obviously successful word of mouth, the second weekend of life for Thai Cook was a very busy one. Venturing in both days over this past weekend found excited Thai diners filling many of the establishment's tables, a common occurrence in a neighborhood where news travels fast of new openings.

The new restaurant actually exists within the confines of iCook, the all you can barbecue and hot pot joint that took up residence here a couple years ago. Thai Cook brings its own energy to the space, which often would find itself empty during off hours. Hopefully this relationship works out for both, as each might bring the other unique customers.

The Thai Cook side of the operation.

The chef here actually started her career in Brooklyn, cooking at the tiny Thai takeout called AM Thai Chili Basil and later moving to a more thorough operation. When it opened, it was one of the only acceptable joints in Brooklyn to find the real food of Thailand. Apparently enough customers asked why she had not opened up a restaurant in Elmhurst, and here we are to watch her next stop.

They make many of their drinks in house, including the matcha milk green tea (below), which tastes much more like the versions you would find in Thailand, sweetened up to the country's tastes unlike their Japanese counterparts. A table of three Thai women near us was going absolutely mad and making videos in awe of the drink.

Back in Brooklyn, the chef was always known for her tasty som tum creations, which have the whole center section of the menu devoted to them here. Two large wooden mortars are visible in the back and always in use, a very good sign. There are ten different options, including the tum salted egg yolk ($8, below), which again ran on the sweet side through an abundance of peanuts.

All the base of a wonderful salad was there though, so with a few squeezes of lime juice and a bit of chopped up Thai chili, the salad was really rocking. If was the first and last dish to be tilted and drank when finishes as not to lose any of the wonderful juice.

Noodle soups come in three options all for $5 each here, small portions that allow for the table to order quite a few other dishes without filling up too fast. This style is often seen at the noodle houses in Thailand, where small bowls of noodles can be ordered and re-ordered until full. What translates on their English menu as "braised pork noodle" is nam tok ($5, below), full of thinly sliced cuts and balls. The broth trends a bit towards the sweet side but naturally this soup desires to be spicy, so ask for the condiment rack and go for it.

Best of the three noodle soups was probably the tom yum noodle ($5, above), which had a great balance of all requisite flavors. The thin noodles let the ground pork and sweet and sour broth do most of the talking, while the chilis made sure to catch up to you a few bites in.

With an extra -ur in the name for some reason, the yen ta four ($5, below) was interesting and enjoyed although entirely different than many versions in the neighborhood. The sweetness in this bowl almost had the character of barbecue sauce, but somehow worked well with the shrimp and noodles.

In the "steamed" section of the menu were many seafood options, but the lime pork slice ($6, below) was calling out with extra force during this meal, and for good reason. This was the dish that caused surprised looks over the table, as the sour and spicy citrusy green sauce was out of this world.

The pork slices are rolled around greens and mushrooms, creating a bite full of crunch and chew. This should not be missed and this section of the menu will be worth exploring on return visits.

There is also a "yum yum" section of the menu, dedicated to Thai salads (yum) composed around meats and seafoods. Only the beef in the yum sliced beef ($8, below) was lackluster, but for this price point you could not ask for much more. The salad around it was beautiful and vibrant, full of fresh vegetables, chilis, and a sauce again worth licking up at the end.

If it was not already obvious, Elmhurst is not going to be stopped. New Thai eateries keep opening up these last few years and expanding the base of what New York City has in its playbook. Thai Cook is a good new addition and worth checking out to see how it evolves.

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ELMHURST Queens
81-17 Broadway

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Kape't Torta

PHILIPPINES 🇵🇭

When the ugly new building on the corner of Queens Blvd and Van Loon Street opened in late 2016 it took a while to fill up with commercial tenants. Queens Blvd from this point west was always pretty sparse with business as foot traffic is minimal after Broadway and cars are traveling so fast they never see anything interesting. Eventually as tenants took hold a florist moved into this spot and a pizza parlor tried to take the corner, but neither survived.

Now the building has taken somewhat of a Filipino flavor, with popular Lahi opening on the corner in spring of 2018 and a brand new Filipino bakery taking over here. Kape't Torta keeps it simple inside and out, their name translating to something like "coffee and cake."

For the first part of the name, it was exciting to see Filipino Kapeng Barako beans advertised and available freshly brewed everyday. This coffee comes from the more southerly and hilly parts of Luzon island, the Philippines' largest. It is highly regarded around the country, which is even hinted it by its name. Barako means "stud," and this is indeed strong coffee.

To finish an enjoyable sit down and follow through with everything in the name, a torta cebuana ($2, below) is recommended. This slightly sweet and very dense cake hails from the island province of Cebu and was the perfect counterpoint to the bitter coffee. The edges crumble off easily while the center is more strong, the whole thing hints of anise.

It is said that these tortas are better after waiting a day, and indeed this was confirmed after eating a cold one straight from the fridge for breakfast the next day. It may not be meant to be refrigerated, but the inner portions of dense cake were still moist and really lovely eaten cold.

Other cakes are made daily and some less Filipino-specific offerings are available, or you can try their halo halo ($6, below), advertised as "special" on the sandwich board outside. It is packed so full of shaved ice that mixing its content is impossible until you eat off quite a bit of it, but once the syrups and jellies from the bottom are mixed the whole concoction is quite enjoyable.

Ube and vanilla ice creams are joined on top with another kind of torta and some corn flakes, all of which make their way to the table or your lap at some point, as the cup is stacked over maximum capacity.

If you try some of their other sweets and find them noteworthy, please tell everyone about them in the comments below.

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ELMHURST Queens
83-13 Queens Blvd

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Moo Thai Food

THAILAND 🇹🇭

In Thai language, the word "moo" refers to an animal, but not the one you might expect. Just look up though, a big fat pig tells the answer to the word and the focused menu.

In Thailand, khao moo daeng (literally: red pork and rice) vendors and restaurants are noticeable from their hanging strips of pre-roasted pork. When an order is placed, the pork is taken down and hacked into enough small pieces to make one portion and hung back up.

A small new Thai restaurant on Broadway in Elmhurst is doing the same basic formula for a khao moo daeng restaurant, minus the hanging meat. It is the second spot from the people behind Eim Khao Mun Kai, a shop a couple doors down that is just as tiny, also focuses on one dish, and does it very well.

What makes the pork red is the sauce, the ingredient that any khao moo daeng shop will be known for. This may be somewhere on the brown to red spectrum in reality, but no bother. Here at Moo, the sauce is just right, sweet and slightly tangy but not in a way to unbalance the tender pieces of pork.

Shown above is Set 2: Khao moo daeng + moo krob ($8.99), consisting of a majority of moo daeng with a few pieces of the crispy pork belly (moo krob). You can also purchase sets of either alone, and those three choices comprise the full menu. Any set will also have a couple pieces of sweet sausage, hard-boiled egg, and a small side broth.

I purchased a to go order to bring to my favorite Thai person, and they wrapped the rice and pork up in paper just like they would if you were getting a takeaway order in Thailand. A very nice touch!

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ELMHURST Queens
81-20 Broadway

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Mi Taqueria Tolte Restaurant

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

I have not been coming to this spot on Corona Avenue for long, but it has the feel of a place that removed their grocery store racks over time and made more and more room for people to sit and enjoy the food. Now it is exclusively a restaurant, only the refrigerated cases remain from this possible past. It gets busy on weekends with couples ordering bowls of pancita and other big plates accompanied by rice and beans.

Throughout the week, Tolte is known for their tortas locas, or crazy tortas, gigantic versions of Mexico's classic sandwich. A list of 12 house specialty creations are shown above the kitchen and on the menu, including La Tolte ($9.99, below), the namesake that includes grilled chicken, eggs, and a hot dog.

What makes these locas (to me at least) is the amount of Oaxacan cheese piled on, most of which I ate with a fork. Some of the other options like the tinga-stuffed chingona or the steak and onions norteña might be more interesting snacks for a follow-up visit, but I am always drawn to menu items that share the name of the place and are their creation.

Their weekend tamales ($1.50 each, below) are very tasty as well. This tamal verde came with an accidentally crispy bottom from getting warmed back up, which was enjoyed nonetheless.

"Tolte" is short for Toltecamila, the tiny village that sits high in the mountains of the southernmost reaches of Puebla state. The music here is usually Norteño ballads, but on one occasion the jukebox seemed to be taking the customers through a Selena retrospective, which is always a good thing. The shiny glass tables and fluorescent lighting do not exactly create a romantic environment, but the music, food, and people make it just right.

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ELMHURST Queens

92-10 Corona Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Taqueria Juarez

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

Just over the border from El Paso in Texas is the sometimes famous, sometimes infamous border town of Ciudad Juárez, the namesake of this taqueria located on somewhat sleepy 43rd Avenue. Lessons have already been learned and I did not bust down the door with the naive hope that there would be cuisine from the state of Chihuahua. After all this is New York City and basically all we are allowed to eat is food cooked by Pueblans.

When you walk inside, the long kitchen to the right is somewhat obscured my boxes of Maruchan ramen, tubes of Pringles, and single servings of cereal to go. Above the industrial kitchen furniture are mountains of styrofoam and plastic soup containers, packaged tortillas, and sacs of conchas from El Aguila Bakery. Machines that swirl with drinks are loaded here with horchata, tamarindo, and jamaica.

The six or seven four tops here seem to get a steady stream of customers, so on a couple recent visits I decided to see how close I could come to comida tipica Juarense even if that was not the point. From Northern Mexican states like Chihuahua, their neighbors, and even over the border in Texas, the birthplace of Tex-Mex, ranching defines the cuisine where the focus will be an array of grilled meats and their skilled preparation. You will also find a lot less reliance on corn masa and more flour tortillas and processed foods thanks to the United States of America being so close.

With this in mind, the sincronizada de carne asada ($10.50, above and below) seemed like a no-brainer. This antojito is sometimes called a quesadilla up here, but the flour instead of corn tortilla gives it away. It is not folded over itself, but rather cut into sections and each is given a dollop of crema and a scattering of crumbled cheese to top the melted white cheese and slice of American processed cheese inside.

The thin strips of carne asada are actually well-marinated and tasty, the whole thing is pulled off relatively well.

While it is possible to imagine yourself ordering this from Taco Bell or some other place that has appropriated various traditions, the fast food version could never stack up to this one which even gets topped with fresh avocado and tomato.

Also of note are the tacos ($3 each, below), which can be ordered estilo Taqueria Juárez for $1 extra and come with grilled cactus, jalapeño and onions on the side.

While the pastor certainly is above average, the tripa (below) here is exciting, larger tubes of small intestine than normal that have been fried to a nice crisp but still retain a lot of juice. The house green salsa is good and should be used liberally.

It is almost a certainty on a weeknight or weekend that at least one other table here will be ordering buckets of beer known as cubetazos and somewhat paying attention to football on the TV. The jukebox comes alive now and then, which gives the place a good atmosphere even if only a couple others are around.

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ELMHURST Queens

91-09 43rd Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Q Town Asian Cuisine

TAIWAN 🇹🇼

This week sees the opening of a brand new Taiwanese restaurant in Elmhurst, at the always busy intersection of Broadway and Whitney Avenue just under the shadow of the LIRR tracks. As long as the food is good, this crossroads of the neighborhood should be a prime location for a restaurant to hang around a long time. The first word is almost fully positive, as our group of seven was generally impressed with the offerings.

There are quite a few tables so you can go in any size group, but grab seven friends and sit at one of the big round tables that accommodates eight. The menu is bewilderingly expansive and ordering as much as possible is a good way to attack this new restaurant.

We did just that, starting with the first page of "appetizers" which reads more like the list of stalls at the Shilin Night Market in the north of Taipei.

Blood rice cake $4.25

Oyster pancake $7.25

Fried stinky tofu $8.25

Taiwanese sausage $7.25

Hakka-style pork & dried tofu $14.25

Gua bao $3.75

Three cup chicken $12.25

Sautéed string beans $11.25

Crispy fried cuttlefish $11.95

Pork liver with scallions $11.25

Baby clam & ginger soup $8.25

Taiwanese stir-fried noodle $7.75

Pork chop over rice $6.95

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ELMHURST Queens

82-87 Broadway

Map of Eat the World NYC: