Reputed to be the best Thai restaurant in the city, Sripraphai sits on an unassuming block, almost in earshot of the rumbling elevated 7 train, way out in Woodside Queens. Since their renovation a few years ago, this spot is less of a famous hole-in-the-wall, and more of a modern sanctum for serious lovers of Thai cuisine. I hoped it would be worth the schlep.

watercress salad–tastes better than it looks

After an overwhelming purusal of a 12-page menu, and fortified by a Singha, the dishes began arriving at a brisk clip. One standout was the crispy watercress salad–tempura-coated greens covering tangy bits of chicken, squid, and shrimp ($9.50), which was best enjoyed with coconut rice ($2.00). The fried shrimp cakes with chili dipping sauce ($8.50) and fried chive vegetable dumplings ($4.00) were somewhat less remarkable, although the crisp, yet deeply chewy texture on the dumplings was a nice surprise, rather like biting into fried cake. My favorite dish of the night was the tom kha gai soup ($4.00). Huge chunks of chicken and mushroom marinated in sweet coconut milk, which had a lovely heat (I asked for medium spicy). It was easily the best tom kha I’ve had. The cashew chicken entree ($8.00) looked innocuous enough–breaded chicken coated with sweet chili sauce and pineapple–but one accidental bite into a dried, rather tasteless chili set my tongue on fire. The burning lasted for half an hour.

cashew chicken

There was no choice put to order some coconut ice cream ($4.00), which was a soothing dessert although one had to dig through a slimy pile of sweet palm seeds to get at the good stuff. The yellow bean cakes ($4.00), which resembled uraniam-esque hockey pucks, tasted a little flat on my chili-pepper numbed tongue, but eaten later at home they were a dense, sweet and coconutty treat.

coconut ice cream

All in all, the flavors were good, the prices were fair, and the service was fast. I was not as blown away as I’d hoped to be but I would go back, and just be careful to avoid any dried chilies. At least I can now proudly add deep-fried salad to my snacking resume.

64-13 39th Avenue Woodside Queens
11:30 am – 9:30pm Closed Wednesdays

On the Siberian evening of December 31st two women dressed in hot pants and body paint stood on tables in the front window of Kurve, dragging their limbs in a dazed approximation of dancing. Never before had so many people crowded inside this lounge, but one got the sense that putting naked girls in the window was the last gasp of the long-drowning project. Sure enough, a few days later the doors were shuttered, with an eviction notice taped to the glass. And true to form a few days later it was back from the crypt, open for business again.

Such has been the pattern at Kurve, an oft-closing Thai/pan-asian restaurant soaked in neon purple lighting, with futuristic decor and undulating walls embossed with swirls. Some reputable names are behind this venture: Andy Yang of Rhong-Tiam runs the kitchen, Sasha Petraske of Milk and Honey consulted on the cocktails, and Pichet Ong of P*ong created the desserts. But as Frank Bruni reports, despite some highlights like dim sum and drinks, it doesn’t all add up–the miserable service and culinary missteps merit no stars.

Despite the happy diners pictured in the NYTimes slideshow I never see anyone in here. So my fascination burns, because I don’t see how a place like this can continue to revive itself in times like these. Is there something redeeming here? What ever happened to Mosto, the former tenant, a perfectly low-key, affordable Italian place with hot waiters and delicious ravioli?

Ten bucks says they brings back the dancing girls…

Eater chronicles Kurve’s path to extinction

Kurve, 87 Second Avenue at 5th St.