Before I start telling you about my first visit to No Thai, I should explain that I am completely head over heels in love with Thai food.  I love everything about it.  The (usual) freshness of ingredients, the mixture between heat and coconut milk, and especially the heat.  If you walk into a Thai restaurant and tell them to make it extra spicy, the chef takes it as a challenge to his manhood.  If you want it extra spicy, he’s not going to throw another drop of hot sauce on your food, he’s going to make it a fiery oblivion to make sure that you never challenge him ever again.

Just for the record, my favorite Thai in the area is served at TupTim in Ypsilanti.  For the longest time, Blacked out Sarah had been raving about this place in Ann Arbor called No Thai!.  For some reason, I never made it out to give it a shot.  Looking back, I think it might have been the name.  Why would anyone open up a Thai restaurant and call it No Thai!?  It always confused me.  I wouldn’t open up an Italian restaurant and call it No Italian!.  It might confuse people and make them think I was serving authentic Mexican food but making an attempt to be humorous with the name.  For this, I took to their website for an explanation.  It goes as follows..

This epic story begins on a cold winter day in February of 2005. On that fateful day, four close friends united to form a pact to bring a modern Thai restaurant to the University of Michigan campus. So the fellowship began, each person would bring to the table their own unique set of abilities. Ultimately, one partner, Noerung “No” Hang, rose above the rest to become the head chef, and so the restaurant came to be known as “No Thai!”. This name would come to bring amusement, confusion, and intrigue to the masses, but now you know No Thai!, or do you?

So it started making sense in those not making sense at all kind of ways.  Regardless, I love Thai food and I decided to make a trip with Blacked out Sarah to experience this food she had been raving about for so long.

No Thai(i’m sick of adding the exclamation mark) is kind of like the fast food of Thai restaurants, and in no way am I trying to badmouth the place by saying that.  If you’re an ethnic food snob, you’ll probably have a great time badmouthing the place to anyone who is willing to listen.  I, for one, am not.  It’s not incredibly authentic and the ingredients don’t taste terribly fresh, but they’re not advertising incredibly authentic food made with terribly fresh ingredients.  It’s a Thai restaurant that offers quick service and anywhere from above average to solid Thai food.  To me it’s a fun, light interpretation of Thai cuisine using basic Thai principles and dishes as it’s basing point.  As the website clearly states, it’s a modern approach on Thai food.

In my opinion, No Thai is a great place to visit if you like Thai food and don’t require an incredibly authentic experience every time you dine out.  You might call me a hypocrite for saying this when I trash Tios Mexican Cafe every chance I get, but if you do I just have to say that you’re kind of dumb.  Tios is an incredibly Americanized version of Mexican food that completely destroys the very idea of Mexican cuisine, while No Thai gives you a basic idea of Thai cuisine, that in my opinion, leaves you with a very positive outlook on Thai food in general.  It’s like the farm system of Thai food that gets you prepared for the big leagues.

I went with the Potato Curry with Chicken, which is described as Cubed potato, white onion, & bell pepper in our curry sauce. I got it at Yoga Flame spice level, which is the second hottest you can request.  I didn’t dare choose the Dim Mak, for reasons I explained earlier.  I paid $8.50 and got a very nice portion of what looked like a pretty tasty looking dish.  Not bad so far.

The food was solid, not great, which I expected.  The meat was tender, the potatoes were delicious(by far the best part of the dish), the vegetables were somewhat fresh tasting, and the “curry sauce” added nice flavor.  I was disapointed with the heat of the dish, but I really didn’t expect to have my tongue burned off.  I actually ended up adding Sriracha to this which did the trick.

All in all, not bad.  Exactly what I would expect from a plate of $8.50 Thai food.  If you’re into Thai food but don’t feel like paying $13-15 bucks per plate, check out No Thai.  Just don’t walk in there expecting to have a little Thai baby Jesus on your plate.  You might be a little disappointed.

No Thai!
1317 S. University
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
http://www.nothai.com/

I was introduced to Dragon 88 years ago by friends. Dragon was a good gathering spot during college and has, to my knowledge, been around for years.  Legend has it that the restaurant opened in 1988, which also happens to be the year  of the dragon in the Chinese calendar.  There used to be a Chinese restaurant called Honolulu in neighboring Westboro, MA.  Dragon 88 started when a handful of Honolulu employees decided they wanted to start their own restaurant.  They left the Honolulu and started the Dragon.

A Chinese man named Dave (yes, that’s right, Dave) is the owner/bartender and is the creator of the legendary Dragon 88 Mai Tai. This is probably one of the strongest, if not the strongest, alcoholic beverages that you can buy in a bar.  A Chinese man by the name of Sanford (yes, Sanford) used to work as the host of Dragon 88 several years ago.  One night  after consuming several Mai Tais, I asked Sanford “What exactly does Dave put in these things?”  His answer:  ”Rum, rum, and more rum!”

To gauge the strength of a Dragon 88 Mai Tai requires comparisons to flammable liquids.  When the Mai Tai is on the weak side – still about 10x stronger than a normal drink from any other restaurant – one might say it tastes like lighter fluid, with a hint of pineapple.  On a night when Dave makes the Mai Tais particularly strong, one might compare it to kerosene, gasoline, or even rubbing alcohol.  Of course, this comparison would only occur after wiping away tears, coughing for a few minutes, and then wincing as one tries to formulate a coherent thought.  However – the Dragon 88 Mai Tai is a bargain at $5.25. Dangerous.

Traditionally  served in a Lowball/Rocks glass with minimal crushed ice, Dragon Mai Tais come garnished with a pineapple/cherry spear, which I find is most helpful for taking your mind off the pain of the drink itself.  There are other quality beverages on the menu as well such as the Scorpion Bowl (comes in two sizes- large which serves 2-4 people, and a small which serves one), the Pina Colada, the Zombie, and the Blue Hawaii.  All of these drinks are mostly liquor with varying types of juices, guaranteed to leave you with an old fashioned, New England Hangover.

Dragon 88 also serves a nice array of Chinese/Polynesian food.  Although the food is fairly standard, greasy Chinese/Polynesian, I will say that it gets exponentially with each Mai Tai consumed.   Especially when you order WAY too much food for any small group of human people:

Observe: Poo-poo platter (on fire), wings, Moo-Shoo Pork, 'Chinese Ravioli' - AKA Dumplings, Mongolian Beef

The bottom line is if you are looking for bang-for-the-buck in terms of drinks, and you happen to be in the Worcester County area, you need to make a point to stop by Dragon 88.  It is a dive like, hole-in-the-wall type of place, but the staff is always friendly and the drinks are second to none.  The food, however, may take years off your life. But honestly, you don’t need those years when you’ve got Mai Tais!

Poo-poo platter: crab rangoon, chicken skewers, boneless spare ribs, friend chicken thingies, a literal heart attack on a plate, and a big flame in the middle!

Dragon 88 Restaurant
260 Shrewsbury St
Boylston, MA 01505

I recently decided that I was going to begin the detoxification process and give up all fast food for a month.  I’ve been suffering from a massive food hangover, which includes the famous fat man sweats, and I realized that it was time to stop treating my body like a garbage disposal.  This was going great until KFC decided it was time to launch their newest creation, the Double Down “Sandwich”, nationwide. Detox is over.  I had to have one.

I came across my first double down a day late and had already read GrubGrade’s review, so I pretty much knew what I was getting myself into.  I had also previously dedicated two posts to the pending arrival of the sandwich, the first being on August 21st, and the second being more recently on April 2nd.  I was prepared and ready to tackle one of the most ridiculous fast food creations of all time.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, or just don’t care to concern yourself with general fast food ridiculousness, the Double Down sandwich uses two boneless chicken filets as the bread and surrounds two slices of Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack cheese, bacon, and Colonel’s sauce.  It’s an interesting combination that seems more like a creation reserved for Thisiswhyyourefat.com than a nationally offered fast food item.  To me, it’s similar to Domino’s “new” pizza recipe, in that it’s more of a gimmick item to draw attention to the chain. I guess that mission is accomplished because I’m taking time out of my day to report it to you people.  Damn you, KFC!

On to business, the KFC Double Down arrives in their usual box but comes in a wrapper which I assumed was intended to block some of the grease from streaming onto your fingers.  It carries a hefty price tag of $4.99, which follows the theme of being absolutely ridiculous.  $4.99 for two chicken filets, bacon, two slices of cheese, and some sauce?   Shame on you, KFC.  Don’t you we’re living in a recession?  Apparently KFC needs to add an L to the end of their name, because I feel like their name should be “Kouldn’t Fucking Care Less”.  I had to spell ‘couldn’t’ with a K there.  The acronym wouldn’t work without it.  Work with me here.

So I pulled the double down out and immediate felt the grease soak through the wrapper and on to my fingers.  The wrapper does its’ job, in that it protects your fingers from becoming completely soaked in grease, but your sticker still get a nice spritz of oil on them.  The chicken filets were equal in size, the cheese was large and stuck out of the sides, and the sauce was slathered on nice and thick.  This thing continued to have serious potential.  The only thing I was a little bit disappointed on at first was the lack of bacon.  There were two minuscule strips across the chicken breast, which didn’t represent very well for the bacon family.


Upon taking my first bite, the first thing I noticed was the spice.  I wasn’t sure if it was coming from the chicken, the cheeses, or the sauce, but this thing has some serious spice in its aftertaste.  Not the usual spice you get from the Colonel’s original recipe either.  It’s something different.  After trying a few of the ingredients by themselves, I decided that it had to be a combination of all of the ingredients.  I hate to sound like I’m seriously breaking down the taste of such a ridiculous creation, but the flavors actually come together to make a nice and spicy “sandwich”.

I have to admit that I still have no clue what “Colonel’s Sauce” is but it’s not bad at all.  I would have to describe it was a cheesy gravy with a little spice added to it.  Now that I think of it, just that description sounds delicious.  Poetic, even.

The second thing that hit me was the saltiness.  I believe my exact reaction was “Damn, this thing is salty.”  This didn’t come as much of a surprise, since the thing has over 1500mg of sodium, but even without knowing that before hand it’s obvious that this thing is enough to make you crave a bottle of Tiger Woods Gatorate.  Unfortunately for all of us, this is no longer available for some reason.  I’m still trying to figure that one out.

All in all this is a delicious, ridiculous, and pretty stupid sandwich that I will most likely not eat again.  It’s doing its job perfectly and getting people talking about it, but I seriously doubt 90% of the people will go back for a second Double Down.  I would recommend that if you like this kind of thing you should go and try it, but I seriously doubt people will return and drop $4.99 on another one.

I leave you with the wrapper after consumption was complete.  Check out that grease pool.

Apparently he was on his way to promote the launch of the chain’s new Footlong Chocolate Brownie and Cream Cheese Frosting on Wheat.  Looks like he’s been doing plenty of taste testing before the big launch.  A person’s weight gain has never made me happier.

The winner of the “So you think you’ve got bad gas now?” competition…I present the Widowmaker….

This was shamelessly borrowed from Thisiswhyyou’refat.  Click the link to read the ingredients…have your trash can/liposuction doctor ready.

I know, I know.  I’m supposed to eating vegetables.  I just couldn’t help wanting to pick this baby up with a pitchfork and eating it.  Damn you, thisiswhyyourefat.com.  Damn you.

It’s been a while since I visited thisiswhyyourefat.com, primarily because I’ve been attempting to shed a few pounds.  It’s not good for me to be gazing upon the food I would like to be eating while eating a Healthy Choice dinner.  Blegh.  I feel like I’m in food prison.   Upon visiting today, I was quickly reminded why I feel in love.

4 words.  If you consider “KFC” to be a word.  If not, 3 letters and 3 words…

KFC. Double. Down. Sandwich.

Two pieces of bacon and two slices of cheese smothered with the Colonel’s Sauce with two fried chicken patties as buns.

I would do things to this sandwich that are illegal in 17 states.

update:

Wait.  This is an actual menu item?  The possibility exists that I could eat this for lunch???   Updates will follow after I try and find one.

from Foodgeekery…

another update..

Just called KFC’s corporate hotline and they gave me no further information and my local KFC does not carry it.  GAHH!!