Painfully Good Food at Pepper Sky's, Cambridge
We went over to Pepper Sky's A Thai Sensation (a weird name, I know!) in Central Square, Cambridge, last night. It's a fairly new place, with an interior that I can only describe as a mix of traditional Thai and traditional Cambridge (lots of colors on the walls, interesting art everywhere, and diners having serious discussions about politics and the environment).
We ordered a few dishes, including the potato puff appetizer (no, not the Napoleon Dynamite kind--they were delicious pastries filled with curry, potato, and chili sauce), a tom ka kai soup which was tasty, though the coconut base isn't for everyone, and two entrees: The chicken kanom jean, which is a classic street dish in Thailand that has noodles, green curry, veggies, and chicken; and the street urchin basil (gaprow), which is another traditional street dish in Thailand that has ground chicken, hot peppers, garlic, and various herbs and veggies.
The chicken kanom jean was very good, though the noodles were a bit mushy (and became almost inedible as the green curry/coconut soaked more and more into the noodles) and it wasn't nearly as spicy as I had hoped. The street urchin basil, however, was a truly amazing dish that caused smoke to come out of my ears, and has given me grief ever since. But what a dish! Even though it was ridiculously hot, the flavors were so rich that I can still taste it right now (for better or for worse!).
Next time I go back, I think I'll stick to the spicy dishes like the street urchin basil. I also want to try the rotisserie chicken panang and the basil sauteed rice, both of which should be sufficiently hot.
hiddenboston
Feb 01, 2007 07:49AM
Thanks for the report. The timing is a good coincidence as I drove by Pepper Sky for the first time ever lase night and noted how I had not heard anything about it. I noted to do a search today, but had forgotten until reading your post. We will have to check it out soon.
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I had an *amazing* basil-based ground meat dish there last year. Not sure if it was the one you enjoyed since I don't remember it being incredibly spicy, but wow, was it good.
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I went there about a year or two ago (maybe more recent?) and thought that it offered really spicy items that I had not encountered in typical MA Thai. IIRC, at the time on this board, it had gotten some middling reviews, but then I discovered Dok Bua and it fell off my radar. Thanks for reminding me to get over there and to the Great Thai Chef in Union.
For the record, I had some tasty Thai from Montien in Inman last night - a decent Tom Yum soup with three shrimp that for the first time anywhere, they were properly cooked in the soup, and not overly rubbery. Also, spicy beef salad that reminded me of larb, and a crunchy pad thai that was adequate in its cooling power over the other two dishes.
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I'll chime in here and offer my opinion: Pepper Sky's is boring as hell. Not bad for overpriced fried noodles (with decent heat, but nothing like Hiddenboston would have you believe. I had to use the dried-chile shaker on my table). Not as bland as most of the American-Thai type places, but nothing exciting in the way of dishes or flavors.
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Hmmm, all I can say is, if I used a dried-chile shaker on the dish I had last night, I'd probably be in the hospital today. ;-b
I'm not sure I'd call the food boring, but we agree to disagree, I guess...
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I have the Street Urchin Basil frequently (it's my standard dinner if I'm stuck in Central Square between work and an evening activity) and it's very tasty but I wouldn't call it particularly spicy. Maybe you got an exceptional batch.
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You might be right, dfan. I'm used to hot foods, but this was almost too much. My GI felt like it does when I sip cognac or whiskey, but it stayed that way for hours. Lots of burning going on! I'll have to go back and see if it was indeed an especially hot batch.
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That's a head scratcher, Luther. My memory is one inflected with serious capsaicin. You're usually on the ball, so this will definitely merit a return visit soon.
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Disclaimer: I have only been for lunch. I've gotten the Urchin Basil, a few different noodle dishes, and the grilled pork and sticky rice. The latter was tasty but totally dried out. The former two were fine, but yeah, boring.
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I haven't tried much Thai in the immediate Boston area, but I love it exciting. So Luther, where would you suggest instead?
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Dok Bua on a good night, or Rod Dee.
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By "a good night", do you mean when they're not crowded, or one of those nights when the cook doesn't have a hangover?
Where are Dok Bua, and Rod Dee?
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Dok Bua is on Harvard St. in Brookline between Beacon and Brookline.
Rod Dee is just west of Coolidge Corner on Beacon - outbound side.
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I'm surprised to hear you say Rod Dee, as it is mediocre Thai fare. They are very cheap on their ingredients and don't even include everything they should in a dish, for example, they don't use tamarind in their pad thai, they don't use scallions and they don't use preserved turnip. Most of the Thai restaurants in Boston don't use these ingredients, though they are integral to the proper taste of the dish. Lemon Grass, Siam Cuisine, Amarin of Thailand, Sawasdee and others all used to include these in their Pad Thai. Pepper Sky's does and is one of the only Thai restaurants in the Boston area still doing so.
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I have found that restos that do Pad Thai wel do nothing else well, and vice versa. It's street food....
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I love Pepper Sky's. I have found their noodle dishes to be top notch, and you're able to get dishes there I haven't seen other places. I have never *ever* had a bland or boring meal there, but I also steer clear of the super common thai dishes one can find most places (except for the drunken noodle, which I have to eat everywhere -- and it is very good here; quite spicy and savory with that perfect "wok hai" taste). They have a noodle dish called Kua Gai which they describe as "the purist's noodle." It's excellent, unlike other things I've had -- stripped down to its essentials and perfectly cooked. Their yellow sunrise curry (or maybe sunshine curry, I can't remember) is a revelation -- a yellow curry dish with an egg broken over the top (like a sunrise); the texture is amazing. Everything I've had has been well spiced in its default state, but you can certainly ask for it to be spicier and they'll happily oblige. Also, their limeade is awesome -- to my tastes, it has the perfect balance of acid, salt, sweet, and fizz. I haven't had better in this city.
I'd take Pepper Sky over any other Boston Thai place anyday.
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Hm, ok: some corrections to my above post. We went last night and since our last visit (sometime in Dec), they've not only got a snazzy new sign, but they seem to be trying to gussy up their menu. What used to be several menus featuring different kinds of items have now been combined into one single menu, but in the process, they've taken some items away, and replaced them with a statement that they'll make anything you want that's not on the menu. Fine for me, but not so great for people who are going for the first time and won't know what to order off the menu. Harumph.
Anyhow, the Kua Gai and the yellow curry I mentioned above (which is now called yellow sun curry) are no longer on the printed menu. But we asked if the kitchen would make them, and they said yes. The Kua Gai turned out just as nice as it's always been. The Yellow Sky curry was basically the same but now comes with some chunks of pineapple. I preferred it without the pineapple, but now that I know, I'll just ask for it without next time. The drunken noodles remain on the menu, but last night tasted and looked different than previous visits -- more of a red colored tint than the previous brown, and sort of more raw spiciness than the slow burn they used to have. Not un-tasty at all, just different.
I wonder if they added/changed kitchen staff in their "upgrade" -- they definitely had some servers last night who were new to me. It was also PACKED last night, so kudos to them, but I wish they'd kept the old menu.
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And where is Pepper Sky's?
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20 Pearl St, just off of Mass Ave in Central Square.
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