Grade: C+
Thai’d Up, an eastern fusion restaurant downtown, serves food that is less than amazing — or should I say “amasian.”
Tacky wordplay aside, Thai’d Up made a splash when it opened during the summer because of its location near two other popular Thai restaurants: Thai Elephant and Thai Basil. The concentration of Thai restaurants created the closest thing Phoenix had to an ethnic neighborhood, but that will end when Thai Elephant closes Oct. 25 due to financial problems and increased competition.
Before visiting Thai’d Up, I resented its contribution to the impending closure of Thai Elephant, which was probably the most popular of the three, and my personal favorite. It also seemed terrible that a restaurant with a name as ridiculous as “Thai’d Up” should replace an established destination like Thai Elephant. But not all change is bad, and Thai’d Up has some redeeming qualities. For example, when I walked in the front door, the atmosphere and decor struck me as particularly clean and fresh.
Like virtually every other Thai restaurant in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Thai’d Up offers a sugary Thai iced tea. It is as delicious here as anywhere else. Its secret recipe is sugar; the Thai iced tea is simply a very sweet tea with cream and some spices that taste like pumpkin.
Thai’d Up’s food was better than I expected, but not an upgrade over Thai Elephant. Like most Thai restaurants, it offers a selection of meats with a serving of vegetables and sauces. I chose the beef panang, which comes with white rice and red and green peppers, served in a peanut-based sauce. The sauce was not too watery and provided flavor to the typically basic ingredients, and the beef was surprisingly tender. But the dish lacked flavor, either because it just was not good or because the excessive spiciness masked its taste. Overall, the dish was slightly better than I expected for a place with a pun for a name, but it wasn’t anything special.
My friend ordered the Pad Thai with chicken, which was a similar story. The translucent, slightly chewy noodles that are typical in the dish were cooked well and weren’t too tough. The chicken, like the beef, was more tender than I expected. But the flavor was no better than any other Thai meal I’ve had before.
Thai’d Up will find business because of its location, with nearby business people stopping by for lunch, unless some more Thai competition comes to town. Its food and atmosphere are surprisingly good, but only if your expectations are set by its cheesy name. The restaurant does not offer its customers anything they couldn’t find somewhere else, or even just a block away. But I ended up at Thai’d Up and I don’t regret it.
Contact the critic at john.l.fitzpatrick@asu.edu
