2512 E Belt Line Rd
Carrollton, TX 75006
(972) 418-8424

The fiance and I took off for lunch at this Thai grill for a dining adventure. The restaurant resides in what appears to be a renovated Long John’s Silvers shack, done up in bright green paint. The interior was also refreshed with modern furniture and lively paint scheme to coordinate with their banana-and-coconut-themed paintings. Seeing the effort put into decorating the place made me confident in knowing that management intends to make this a successful venture.

On to the menu. We tackled the chicken satay for an appetizer, then I ordered the house special Coconut chicken while the fiance sampled their blackboard special of Yellow Curry. As is our experience with any skewered meat, the chicken satay went down in a few gulps–good stuff!–then we looked around hungrily for more. I had already regretted my omission of my typical Tom Kha chicken soup, and so pounced on the eggrolls that accompanied our meals. After making short work of the eggrolls, both of us dived into our meals with gusto. And what meals they were!

I haven’t had a coconut chicken dish like this in recent memory, but Coconut Thai’s fantastic rendition is worthy of praise. The marinated grilled chicken paired excellently with a slightly sweet and tangy sauce, and I confess to enjoying the mixed greens salad that went with it. The fiance also declared the Yellow curry special to be above-average and I had to check myself from saucing up the rest of his curry dregs on my rice. We were both so pleased with our lunches yet hungry enough to order a third dish, pad thai pork, just to see if they could serve up a capable noodle dish. I am entirely pleased to report that they mostly succeeded, except for their strange exclusion of crushed peanuts that is so indicative of pad thai dishes.

Coconut Thai Grill definitely surprised us and we will gladly return to try out more of their other menu specials.

7447 North MacArthur Boulevard
Irving, TX 75063
(972) 910-8846‎

I remember Best Thai from their original Addison location, though I’m not sure if this is the same restaurant that quadrupled their footprint in DFW or a totally different venture.

Armed with comfortable memories of the original “Best Thai” I convinced the fiance to try out this outpost in Irving, to see if lived up to my expectations.

Sadly, my impressions of Best Thai aren’t entirely positive. Best Thai seems to have capitulated to the practice of serving “neighborhood” quality food…fast, easy and convenient to the blocks of apartments and condos surrounding it. I can’t say that it is the “best” Thai food I’ve ever eaten, but in a pinch, it works.

The fiance and I ordered a bowl of their coconut chicken soup, a rendition that seemed devoid of the typical coconut creamy sweetness and citrusy tang of lemongrass that I’m used to. Best Thai complicates their version by adding onions and a heavier hand at the fish sauce. While it wasn’t a bad soup, it was too brothy to be considered a proper Tom Kha Gai.

I also feel disappointed with their Thai garlic chicken, a flavorful dish in which the vegetable-to-meat ratio measured nearly 10-to-1. I couldn’t help but feel cheated as I scrounged through the plate looking for pieces of chicken. My tongue also missed the 4-star heat advertised as hot, making me wish I had tried the 5-star very spicy option. My fiance fared much better however with his Bangkok Special, a chicken with broccoli plate nicely flavored with peanut sauce.

With one server bussing the dining room, which was quickly filling up with the Monday dinner crowd, we didn’t stay for dessert. I didn’t think they had a dessert menu anyway, and I am less inclined to return and find out.