#94 Tamarind - Sam's synopsis

love them titles

And so here we are, the last post before the end. Where has the time gone? It's been a wild ride, that's for sure. But I'll save my nostalgia and feelz for the final, final post. For now, here's my review of
Tamarind.

I have to say, of all the Thai restaurants we've eaten at, I think Tamarind is the best. Save the best for last, right? Sorry, I only have so many more opportunities to litter my writing with terrible clichés, so gotta take advantage of it. I arrived early (because it's me), and grabbed a table for 6. It's a smaller restaurant, but luckily the larger table was open table to accommodate us. I perused the menu (which had some pretty cute titles for food sections) while waiting for Sandya and co. to arrive from Science on Tap up the street. Luckily Matthew showed up a few minutes after me and we chatted for a bit until the whole gang arrived.

fish cakes

Tamarind is BYOB, so Sandya stopped by her place to bring us all back some beverages, which was much appreciated. For appetizers, we went with fish cakes, crispy angels (chicken and shredded cabbage in a fried wonton shell), and fried taro. The fishcakes were very flavorful but a little rubbery. I still really enjoyed them though. The crispy angels were also very nice, but a bit too much fried wonton and not much filling. I would have appreciated a little more substance, but I still liked them. The fried taro was good, but my least favorite of the appetizers. What is taro? It's a root vegetable, in case you didn't know. I vaguely knew that, but it isn't something I eat very often. I'm not a big fan of the flavor, which I can't accurately describe because I don't know how to pinpoint it. I've really learned a lot about writing about food these past 4 years, huh?

I went with chicken panang curry as my main course. It was sweet and savory and creamy all of those good things. There was a nice mix of vegetables and a proper amount of rice to get a good sauce-to-rice ratio. I had some leftovers that soaked up the flavor of the sauce very nicely, making for a good lunch the next day. Matthew got the highest level spice pad thai, which was a source of entertainment for everyone at the table. If you want real spicy, this is your place. I had to jet out a little early, so I don't know if dessert was acquired, but I would certainly have liked to try a Thai iced tea, assuming it was on the menu (I didn't see it but I also didn't see a drinks section). The food was great though, so all the more reason to go back and find out.

Tamarind
117 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 925-2764