Sen Thai & Ramen (Former Spoon Thai owners are back!)

As mentioned recently in the O&C post, Sen Thai & Ramen has opened in the former Spoon Thai space. Merle and I had dinner there recently after getting some culture at Steppenwolf Theatre.

We've never been to Spoon. I have no point of reference between the two spots. Sen is a small bright spot. Wood booths along the walls with a handful of tables. Nice artwork on the walls. There was a TV hanging in one corner with some sort of asian cooking show playing on mute. Service was attentive. Then again, we were the only diners there at around 5pm on a Saturday.

The Ramen section of the menu consists of four options - pork slices, fried, chicken , shrimp tempura, and fried tofu. All can be prepared regular or spicy.

The rest of the menu consists of the usual items found at a Thai restaurant. We weren't overly hungry. Cashew Nut Chicken for Merle. Curry Chicken for me. We shared a cucumber salad. Nice sized portions. Clean Plate Club for me. Small doggie bag for Merle. Everything was good.

Easy parking across the street on Western Ave. They prefer cash...though credit cards are accepted. Not sure if there's a up-charge.

Sen Thai & Ramen
4608 N Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
(872) 241-4873
https://thairestaurantchicago.com/

I finally got to Sen Thai and Ramen recently, which is a little strange as it is the closest Thai restaurant to my home. After a dinner and lunch I have a decent start.

There have been decoration but not substantive changes to the dining room since Spoon Thai days. Normal table layout is different but that is just how the tables are arranged. For a long time the windows were largely papered over with pictures of the food. Most of that was removed recently.

My first meal was dinner last week. I had Tom Yum Soup with chicken and Panang Curry with beef. The Tom Yum was pretty typical with perhaps a bit more red pepper flakes than most. The Panang Curry was very different from what the Evanston Lunch Group had at Cozy Noodles the week before. This one was loaded with beef and had a lot of peanut butter in the sauce but not the usual level of coconut milk. There were a fair number of red pepper flakes visible in the sauce, but it did not seem spicy at least after the Tom Yum. The menu listing for this curry does not have the little red pepper that is on most of the currys.

Today I had Spicy Crazy Noodle with chicken lunch special and spring rolls. The spring rolls were pretty typical. I ordered the noodles with medium spice. There were two slices of jalapeno including seeds plus red pepper flakes scattered in the sauce. The server brought over a container of red pepper sauce. I added a couple of spoonfuls to zip things up a bit. Again a pretty middle of the road version. Portion size is probably the same as for regular menu, which is not surprising as the lunch special and most of the regular noodle dishes are $12.95. I also had Thai iced tea, which was in a larger glass than many.

Based on this limited sample the food is respectable but not outstanding. The prior week I had dinner at Madame Puffs Thai Bistro, which is very different from Sen. I want another visit before I start a thread for that restaurant. I had a nice chat with the woman I presume is Madame in which she said that the owner of Sen is the original owner of Spoon.

The web site Dave noted in his post links over to the current site. The menu on the web site is a pdf of the carryout menu that is laminated for use in the restaurant. There is still a sign about preferring cash. I used cash both times so I don't know if there is an upcharge for plastic.

BYOB

https://www.senthairamen.com/

ekreider wrote:I had dinner at Madame Puffs Thai Bistro, which is very different from Sen. I want another visit before I start a thread for that restaurant.

Feel free to start that thread, I have thoughts! (Based on one visit, though.)

A few weeks ago, a friend sent an excited message. At the former Spoon Thai location, he dropped in to Sen Thai to meet the owners of the original Spoon Thai.

For those who might not have enjoyed the specialness of Spoon Thai, it was ground zero for the secret menu intended for Thais only. The first person who identified this secret menu had no paper on him. He used freely available toilet paper to begin transcribing the Thai characters. Later Gwiv showed up, took the secret menu, gave them his driver's license and went across the street to make a photocopy. Another person scanned it to a pdf, then it was sent to an American Ex-Pat whose screen name was 'Food First.' She translated the menu with her Thai language teacher. What a blessing!

Erik M learned Thai food language to translate Thai menus all over town.

When LTH has barely three weeks old, I started a post for people to easily find the translated menus. If you ever used Chowhound circa 2004, you would understand how this was a major upgrade.

You would be seated next to a person who was enjoying crab rangoon and Pad Thai. I would order one-bite salad, banana blossom salad and Thai fried chicken. It was two worlds at adjoining tables, we later learned there were two kitchens: one devoted to Thai food menu and the other for Americans.

In a funny way, one could declare the band was back together again when a dozen of us met last week. I was reticent to say anything until I knew it was really what I hoped it to be. Thankfully it was just as wonderful as remembered. Of course this heat reticent person bumped into some chili-heat. I gulp as much water as I was known to do in the past.

At the time I was there, no other customers walked in and I did not see anyone collecting take-out. Later I heard a couple walked in afterwards. While it has been 20 years, and none of us are much younger, and this walk back to meals past was wonderful.

Pointed out by my friend who walked into Sen Thai for peek. The secret menu items are now integrated into the new menus. Just to keep you on your toes, you need to read through the color menu as well as the take-out paper menu. I did not study them carefully, though someone commented they each have unique items.

You can go home again as long as it lasts.

Regards,
Cathy2

I had dinner at Sen Thai this evening: rice noodles with chicken in red curry sauce. Plenty of red pepper flakes in the curry sauce upped spice level to around the papaya salad we had at the July Sunday dinner. There weren't a lot of vegetables: several kinds of bell peppers and strips of bamboo shoot. This dish would be better if split by two people along with a more vegetable oriented dish but not papaya salad.

I also had mango beverage, which was a good foil to the spice.

I was the only one eating in from around 7:45 to 8:35 so service was quick. They had one carryout order and several delivery orders in that time. Western Avenue from Eastwood to a bit north of Leland is a total mess now due to construction including the sidewalks on the west side of Western narrowed with barriers, which may be having an adverse effect on Sen Thai even though they are south of the mess. They need more business.

Cathy2 wrote:You can go home again as long as it lasts.Regards,
Cathy2

How I feel about Al's and Mario's