#42 – BEEF WITH CHILI TURMERIC at PURE THAI SHOPHOUSE

For the third year in a row, I’m going to attempt to eat every single item on Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes list. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100. Let the gluttony continue…

It was Pure Thai Shophouse, but the place is now called Pure Thai Cookhouse. And when you discover the reason, it’s maddening. This modest, but popular Thai restaurant on Ninth Avenue (one of many on that block) was forced to change its name when Chipotle decided it was going to open up an Asian fast food restaurant and call it Shophouse. Even though Pure Thai had opened before this announced, the Mexican behemoth has bigger and badder lawyers and so, Pure Thai Shophouse is now Pure Thai Cookhouse.

The good news is I don’t think this has stopped the crowds from coming or affected the quality of the food. While I didn’t love everything we tried, I’m pretty excited about this new stellar, affordable Thai discovery I’ve made.

Time Out’s list item is the Wok Stir-Fried Beef with Chili Turmeric (although the menu lists those words in a different order) and the menu lists three stars for extreme hotness. I asked the waitress how spicy it was and she responded “Thai spicy.” I asked for it medium because I worry this is one of Time Out’s spicy for the sake of spicy inclusion. In the past, we have been burned (pun intended) by an overwhelming heat that prevented us from fully tasting the list items.

Maybe I shouldn’t have changed the spice level because the dish ended up being rather bland. It did have a creeping heat, but not much flavor beyond that. I found the beef itself to be a little tough and chewy. The asparagus and green beans were fresh and provided texture, but even the promising sauce of turmeric and chilies lacked acidity and a flavorful punch.

But the rest of our meal was quite memorable. I feel like this is another case of Time Out missing the truly stand-out dishes. The Ratchaburi Crab and Pork dish with handmade egg noodles and scallions was phenomenal. The springy noodles had a nice sweet/tart balance and the meat was all fresh and tender. I found the boldness I was missing with the beef dish in the green papaya salad. It had quite a bit of heat which was cooled with some crispy papaya sweetness and an interesting chewy texture from dried shrimp. The dumplings were unusual, but I ultimately enjoyed the earthy mushroom innards and the tender green wrappers.

Despite the disappointing beef dish, Pure Thai Cookhouse is a really delicious find on Ninth Avene. It wavers between authentic Thai flavors (that papaya salad was hot!) and appeasing American palettes (they offer the requisite Pad Thai). I’m willing to bet Chipotle’s Shophouse won’t be able to do that.

Would Pure Thai Shophouse Cookhouse’s Beef with Chili Turmeric make my Top 100 of the year? Maybe it would have been better with the full three stars of spice, but as is I found it rather bland and ir was not saved by the dry, chewy meat. 5 out of 10.