Coconut Thai

Where: 3213 S. 38th St., Tacoma, 253.671.8238

Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Cuisine: The full gamut of Thai cuisine — 54 items

Scene: A clean cut, ’60s-like décor with deep wood tones and plenty of open space.

Drinkies: Adjacent bar with big screen





ANNOUNCER: I know how Thai food tastes when eaten with fingers in the backseat of an Impala parked facing the wrong way down a one-way alley, windows up, lights out, air thick with stale smoke. I know the smell of it — full and exotic — curling up from the bulging lids of waxy cardboard takeout containers in a plastic bag that steams in the cold, a $40 feast bought on a new credit card that I'd never make a payment on until threatened by the law. I relished its texture as I sucked flat rice noodles through my teeth at one in the morning on the patio of a restaurant whose name I never knew, watching busboys race fat, black cockroaches along the railing at 10 bucks a go.



JAKE: I think the Announcer has gone bye-bye. This is a restaurant review not some Tarantino flick. The Coconut Thai on 38th Street …



ANNOUNCER: I still crave the brutal oxy-acetylene burn of Sriracha hot sauce on shrimp, washed away with long pulls of Tiger beer. That's a particular taste from my misspent youth — nights in Seattle’s International District, where they never checked IDs and would've served a monkey if it …



JAKE: You and your monkey are out of here. Leave, now!



Sorry. The Coconut Thai on 38th Street doesn’t resemble anything like what the former announcer painted. It’s an elegant space, classy but accessable, with the charm of a grande dame who drinks a little too much sherry in the morning. Anyone looking for a funky, down-and-dirty Thai eatery where you can dine quickly with your monkey might want to look elsewhere.



JASON: It’s almost swanky — a clean-cut, ’60s-like décor with deep wood tones and plenty of open space. Luckily, there is a tattoo parlor two doors down to keep things in perspective.



JAKE: Yes, it is on 38th Street after all.



I opened with some lovely spring rolls — three squat cylinders of brittle gold stuffed with chopped chicken, cabbage, and crystal noodles. I thought the “spring” came from the tasty plum dipping sauce (also served promptly). But my curry preceded my friend's stir-fry cashew chicken by several odd minutes. There was no explanation and no apology. Fortunately, both were tasty: the former a spicy coconut-red curry broth, fortified with strips of chicken and bamboo shoots, to be ladled over rice on the side; the latter a Chinese-like, and also quite spicy, stir-fry of chicken, cashews, snow peas, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, carrots and celery (all of the vegetables were nicely crisp-tender) in a chili paste.



JASON: We first dined on coconut prawns. They were large and sweet and arrived with a spicy dipping sauce. On my visit, I also tried the cashew chicken and thought it was one of the best in town (the other being Galanga Thai Cuisine on Broadway). A good cashew chicken, of course, has plenty of nuts, but also plenty of veggies and a rich but sweet sauce. They accomplished the mission. But really, the true winner on the menu and the dish I’ll keep going back for from now until eternity is the Thai Angel. Pan fried, thin rice noodles swimming in a delicate curry sauce with a mix of chicken, prawns, vegetables and egg — an out of this world taste.



JAKE: It’s virtually unheard of in Thailand to be served a meal that doesn’t include rice in one form or another, and there is an assortment of enticing rice dishes, mostly fried, at Coconut Thai. But equally as ubiquitous in Thailand are noodles, and there are a few noodle dishes on Coconut Thai’s menu to select from, although not an overwhelming selection. I’ve not worked my way through all of them yet, but I can highly recommend the “Pud Thai” — probably the best rendition in the state — the Thai Angel you mentioned, bro, and the seafood egg noodle soup, which is a mélange of wispy yellow noodles with shrimp, scallops and calamari in an excellent homemade seafood broth — a completely gratifying dish in itself.



JASON: We’d also be remiss not to give a thumbs-up to the Rama Chicken — the peanut sauce was delicious. As I always say, if the peanut sauce is good, then you can count on everything else being in order (of course, it’s a silly thing to say when at a pizza joint). The chicken tasted fresh; the spinach was nice and green, good chi. Hats off to the service as well — nice people running the food.



ANNOUNCER: I can imagine leaving Coconut Thai with a takeout order of the panang curry with a box of rice, stacked in a plastic bag. I'd let the curry mellow for a night, maybe two, in the fridge at home and then go after it at midnight. I'd eat by the blue glow of infomercials on the tube, or standing over the sink in the quiet and the dark or, if it's a good night, I'd eat in bed, my wife and I sharing off one plate, still giggling, stupid drunk on love and curry.



JAKE: I’m so sorry.





MENU

Spring roll >>> $7.55

Meatball noodle soup >>> $8.95

Ginger chicken >>> $8.95

Pud Thai >>> $8.95

Thai Angel >>> $10.95

Duck Curry >>> $10.95