Thai Express

Neighborhood: Clifton
Food: Thai

Thai Express, located in the old "Hamburger Alley," offers fairly inexpensive Thai takeout (I guess you could eat there, but I doubt many people do). I suggest calling ahead to place your order -- and taking two people, one to drive around the block (to save $ by not parking at meters) and one to run in to pick up the food. (If you do park, there are meters along the street -- hard to get, and off limits during rush hour -- or metered parking in a lot behind Clifton Natural Foods, on the southeast corner of McMillan and Clifton.)

Unfortunately, Thai Express has no website or online menu. We've tried a few different dishes, and I'll give price and "item number" for each (you can get a paper menu with your food to use next time). All entrees listed (other than fried rice) come with steamed rice. You decide how spicy you want the dish, on a scale of 1-10 (we've never gone higher than 8, which is pretty hot; I usually ask for a 7, which is safe no matter who's cooking, while the 8 can be a bit alarming depending on the cook).

• E1 Ginger Stir Fry ($6.50): Choose chicken, pork, beef or tofu for this dish, which is a stir fry with ginger and mushrooms according to the menu (doubtless other things, as well). I like ginger -- but this dish was disappointing. The ginger was left too large for my liking, with its fibrous texture. I found the flavor lacking in complexity.
• E3 Holy Basil Stir Fry ($7.50): Holy basil has a more peppery flavor than sweet basil, which is familiar from Italian food. Again, this dish offers the choice of chicken, pork, beef or tofu. Thai Express's holy basil stir fry is decent -- not the best I've had, but certainly edible and tasty enough.
• E14 Thai Style Fried Rice ($6.50): Our favorite dish from Thai Express, you can get this with vegetables only, with chicken, pork, beef or tofu (you can go with shrimp for $1 more, crab for $2 more or "combination" for $2 than the base price). This is a flavorful fried rice, with a "lighter" taste than typical Chinese fried rice. It comes with onions, tomato, green onions and egg, any of which can be left out by request. A few cucumber slices come on the side. This dish provides a very large amount of food -- easily enough for 2 meals.

Thai Takeout is at 231 W. McMillan, and hours are M-Th 11:00-9:00, F-Sa 11:00-9:30. Their phone number is 513-651-9000.

Rating: 8 (1, 3, 4) (What's this?)
Lisa's rating: Hot mama! (Note: this is a reference to the elderly lady cooking over a giant, steaming wok.)