US Thai Cafe at www.usthaicafe.com

So not a single guess to the photo op…. which is only fair since I’ve been so derelict in my duties to post regularly.  But no more.. posting is BACK!!

The answer to the “Where’s the Brain” question from two nights ago, if you didn’t guess by the title of this post, is the little nugget known as the US Thai Cafe.  Now don’t go worrying that because it’s in Edgewater that it is too far for us Denver Urbanites to commute to… especially those of you who call the Central Platte Valley Home.

US Thai Cafe is located at 5228 W. 25th Ave. just off of Sheridan.  For those in the Highlands it’s practically around the corner.  And this particular stretch of 25th is, and I kid you not, like a slice of Mayberry RFD straight out of the Andy Griffith show.  I kid you not!  I rarely use this word but the street is just cute.  Little cafe’s, little stores, and friendly signs adorned with holiday lights.  It just pops up out of nowhere like an attractive urban oasis in a desert of plain storefronts and blacktop intersections.

But enough about the street… you need to go inside to sample the flavors.  US Thai is a small restaurant with old fashioned diner style tables and chairs, open kitchen, and quick friendly service.  Reading the reviews on the board I followed their listed favorite items and placed a togo order for the following…

• Thai Egg Rolls (2) – $3.50
• Toomyam Soup (Thai famous lemon grass  soup cooked with yellow onion, mushroom, basil, cilantro, and I added shrimp) – $5.95
• SoomTam (Papaya salad with green papaya, peanut, lemon juice, tomato and green bean) – $5.95
• Pad Khimoa – Drunken Noodles – $7.95 – I ordered with Chicken
• Keng Kiewang – Green Curry – $8.15 – I ordered with Chicken

I ordered everything medium hot which, after being warned, was spicy enough to produce those little sweats you feel on your cheeks and forehead.  They did warn me that their spicy was above the average spicy of other restaurants which I’m proud of them for.  If you are going to do a Thai restaurant don’t be sissy about it, be true to the food!!  They give a fair warning so buyer beware.  I love hot so this was right up my alley.. although I’m a bit frightened to try the hot (which of course means I will).

Everything was delicious!! I followed my usual recommendation of ordering the food there as it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare and that way you get home with the egg rolls still crispy and the soup still steaming.  The egg rolls were fantastic, crispy with a nice flaky style crunch, not a dried out thin wrapper.  Everything was awesome including the papaya salad that served as my cooling off bit, the drunken noodles that seemed to carry the most heat, and the green curry that was flavorful and not as sweet as many I have had.  The only negative I’ll have to give them was that in the process of packing up my order (there were many togo orders being prepared and folks stopping in and out) I received someone’s tofu green curry and unfortunately someone must have gotten my chicken curry.  It’s no big deal for me, I loved trying the tofu and with the Drunken Noodle Chicken included I had a nice variety… but I do hope the other person wasn’t vegetarian.  Mistakes happen and the service was so great I’m sure they would have taken care of it but I was just fine with my accidental change of menu.

The short story is that I recommend you get your butt’s up there and give US Thai a try.  If you like quaint and authentic I believe this is one spot you should remember next time you have a Thai spice craving.

US Thai Cafe
5228 W. 25th Ave.
Edgewater, CO 80214
303-233-3345
www.usthaicafe.com