Places to try around Boston
- The King And I at the end of Charles St - has THE BEST pad thai
YES! I used to work at a boutique on Charles St. and we’d order pad thai from The King and I all the time. Having lived in NYC for over four years and been to a zillion Thai places here, I still haven’t found pad thai as good as The King and I’s.
After I moved to Beacon Hill, I started to get my Thai exclusively from The King And I (it is literally two blocks from Patrick’s apartment) but I’ve never grown fond of it. Tamarind House near Porter or Spice in Harvard Square always seemed more authentic to me. This is probably because The King And I uses regular broccoli in their pad see ew which is supposed to come with Chinese broccoli. I can’t testify to the pad thai.
In my opinion, the only Asian food in the Boston area that approaches So Cal quality is in the food court at the Porter Exchange, which houses Bluefin (probably the best sushi in Cambridge), a great ramen place, and the only two restaurants in Cambridge that serve Japanese curry, Ittyo and Cafe Mami.
(Trust me, I’ve done a lot of research in the Japanese curry arena. Unless you want to shell out $20 for it at Fugakyu — which I can only get to if I beg Patrick to drive me, Porter Exchange is your best and most accessible bet.)
I still don’t know where you can get good Vietnamese. I only go to Le’s/Pho Pasteur when coerced.
I like Xinh Xinh in Chinatown for Vietnamese. Not great atmosphere, but excellent for takeout
