My partner and I made a sort of resolution: after years and years of adding things to our lives (Italian lessons once a week, additional newspapers, 5-hour bike rides), it was time to downsize a little. And so in addition to cancelling the Tribune and keeping the other 3 papers, and chucking a few magazines, we also decided we needed to free up some time from our usual evening dinner-a-thons. A typical evening: open the wine, start prepping the whatever, chat, sip wine, argue its merit, more prep, cooking, olives/salami/cheese/wine while food cooks, dinner, clean up, etc.
So one of our decisions was to go out to eat inexpensively at least once a week nearby. I
really like to cook, so it really has been a bit of a struggle to get out each time, but we've enjoyed 2 favorites of this board (and the others'), Larsa's and Kabul House on Dempster in Skokie.
But tonight we went to a new place, Tub Tim Thai on Oakton. Their website,
http://www.tubtimthai.com/, is charming, but we were really taken with their food.
The menu is mostly in English, and relatively small, but all the flavors were much more fresh and bright than I'm used to having at our usual haunts (Roseded, Spoon, Thai Aree). They do mention on their site that they make their own sauces. Authentic? I have no idea, but will you enjoy it, yes.
We had:
Tod Mun ("Fish Cakes")- softer and with less lemongrass than I am used to, but tasty.
The woman who waited on us was very friendly and recommended a dish whose name I will not remember, but involved chikoo (sp?) leaves with toasted fresh coconut, lime, dried shrimp, peppers, fresh ginger and a plum sugar sauce. This is apparently a popular snack item, and a real treat in terms of experiencing different textures - the crunchy, dry coconut, the spicy, soft ginger, the tart lime, the chewy shrimp.
Larb ("Chicken Salad") was the brightest tasting I've had - very vivid flavors of the meat, as well as fresh shallots and ginger. The spiciness level was good for us. We asked for "spicy", but I truly doubt it would have satisfied a true Thai palate, as I remember the papaya salad at Thai Aree burnt a hole through our tongues in the past.
Speaking of which, they had a nice papaya salad as well. Pleasant, well-executed. Finally, we had a beef green curry, whose sauce I liked a lot. I'm not a big beef fan, but this was soft and tender, so I guess this is a good thing. I could have had the sauce on anything and been happy, though.
Bill was $40, and the service was great. The place was impeccably clean, and I'll definitely return. Now, someone else visit who knows Thai better and let me know what you think!
Tub Tim Thai Restaurant
4927 Oakton Street
Skokie, IL 60077
847-675-8424
www.tubtimthai.com