Capital Thai's green curry

A mystery solved: Capital Thai, Albany, NY

So I was driving down Central Ave., listening to Josh Ritter and perfecting my pothole weave, when there on the right, hiding behind a gritty telephone pole, was a small, white sandwich-board sign: Thai food.

If you work for my car insurance company, please click here.

I will say that horns may have blared, and it’s possible that there was a teeny intsy bit of tire screeching. Does anyone know where I can get an “I brake for Thai Food” bumper sticker?

I hung a right just after the boarded up Denny’s and cruised past a hulking bulldozer that sat in front of the store’s glass windows like some kind of mangy guard dog. (OK, I’m not sure if it was technically a bulldozer, but it was big and yellow and dirty, and it had some kind of huge thingy on top.)

Perfect.

Capital Thai's version of a samosa

No one was going to come here to look cool. Places like this must have good food to survive. Or so the theory goes.

Now those of you who live in Seattle, or the Bay Area, or Portland – you know who you are – may be wondering what the big deal was. In your cities if you hit the brakes every time you saw a Thai restaurant, you’d never get anywhere, except maybe traffic court.

Even Celinabean’s Boston contingent can find a decent plate of steamed fish with chili sauce without too much trouble. (Every time I go to Boston, it’s do not pass go, do not collect $200, proceed directly to the nearest Thai restaurant.)

Albany, for all its many charms, is sorely lacking in decent Thai food. It’s something we might have been able to get away with in the old Albany economy, but no one is going to take us seriously as a high-tech contender until you can find a decent plate of Pad Thai for under $10. Overly sweet piles of dried-out noodles with a few tough shrimp on top need not apply.

For those of you wondering if all this high-tech talk is for real, I give you Capital Thai. It is one lone restaurant, and it isn’t a temple to the best Thai food anywhere, but it is a beginning.

The flavors are real, and so is the heat if you ask for it. Most of the menu hovers in the $8 - $12 range. (More for whole fish and half-duck entrees.)

glass noddle stirfry

And some of the dishes are standouts. The Tom Yum soup is better than any I had on my last trips to Seattle and Boston. The layers of flavors – deep heat that warms and opens the taste buds, tangy lemongrass, a robust stock with chunks of tomato -- are so complicated your brain has to give up all linear reasoning to figure them out.

tom yum soup

I’ve had the green curry twice. Once I asked for real heat and got it. The other time, I forgot to mention the heat, and it was a much calmer version. My seven-year-old was able to suck down a few bites before running for a glass of water. This is really good, he said, before gulping down another swig of his drink.

Both versions were delicious in that nothing fancy but oh, so good kind of way. It’s the type of dish I’d love to get for takeout one night and then eat the leftovers for dinner for three nights in a row. (The takeout portions are big.)

I also tried the garlic duck. Some of the meat was crispy on the outside and succulent inside, but other pieces were a little dry. The sauce was so good I almost didn’t care. I might eat my shoes if they had enough of this gingery, garlicky goodness on it.

Oh, what, enough about the food, you want to know who won the contest? Third Auntie, the prize is yours. Put up a comment with your email in the field (it won’t so up in the post), and I will contact you with details.

garlic duck

posted April 25, 2008 | link | comments (13)

filed under: Places, contests/taste-offs, Albany, Capital Thai, Josh Ritter, NY

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Comments

"Now those of you who live in Seattle, or the Bay Area, or Portland – you know who you are – may be wondering what the big deal was. In your cities if you hit the brakes every time you saw a Thai restaurant, you’d never get anywhere, except maybe traffic court."

You are so right! I grew up near S.F., that observation is absolutely true.
Now I live in Albany - but the section with two Thai restaurants within walking distance.
Kathleen

- by Kathleen Lisson on Apr 25, 2008 at 4:19 PM | link

Hi Celina,
Wowee, I won the contest!! If you don't mind, could you take the spring roll money and use it for a food donation to a food pantry or food drive? It's not much but every bit helps.

We just had dinner at Capital Thai last Saturday and it was a great meal. And of course, I had the spring rolls.

Hope to meet you some day. I love talking about different foods, cooking, and sharing stories about Chinese meals from my childhood.

Best regards to you and all your readers.

- by on Apr 25, 2008 at 5:56 PM | link

Oops, forgot to sign my name above :)

- by Third Auntie on Apr 25, 2008 at 8:44 PM | link

I have to say that I went with a few coworkers the other night and what we had was good but not as good as the mutliple times I've gone to Bangkok Bistro in Schenectady. It's definitely worth the drive!

- by maria on Apr 26, 2008 at 8:26 AM | link

Sold. I will try and make it over there soon. What did you have at Capital Thai? What do you recommend at Bangkok Bistro?

Also, to Third Auntie...

I will be glad to make the donation. I will let you know when it is done. Have you been to Bangkok Bistro? It would be nice to someday.

- by celinabean on Apr 26, 2008 at 9:01 AM | link

I posted a question to Steve Barnes' blog, about this very same topic, and nearly got my head bitten off (if you don't like the Thai here, then leave, dangit!). I went to Capital Thai twice - the meals were okay, but not as spicy as I like. Coming here from NYC (and constantly taking heat from the locals, because I came here from NYC), I'm accustomed to knockout Thai food, and I've just about given up. I'll try the dishes you wrote about in this article, but when I pay a hefty price for a seafood dinner, and the squid/calamari/octopus/whatever pieces can't even be cut with a knife, I'm a little bit hesitant. I'll try again.

Oh yeah - Bangkok Bistro in Schenectady is pretty darn close to greatness; unfortunately, I don't have too many reasons to go to Schenectady.

- by Zenzele on Apr 27, 2008 at 8:26 PM | link

Please let us know how it is. I had the green curry with beef. I've had squid there once and it was very tender. The shrimp I had was a takeout thing and was overdone by the time it got to my house. I'm not sure how it would have been if we had had it there.

In terms of heat, the waitress told me that she tells the chef when there are Thai people at the table and the chef adds a lot more heat. I also got a lot of heat when I asked for it. But, as I noted in the post, when I didn't ask things were tasty but mild. By far my favorite thing there so far is the Tom Yum Goong.

Hope to hear how it goes.

- by celinabean on Apr 27, 2008 at 8:43 PM | link

Yum. It all looks really good! Albany John has been raving about this place for a while - I will have to tell him to ask for extra heat.

And how sweet is Auntie?

- by Albany Jane on Apr 28, 2008 at 9:32 AM | link

Everything my friends and I have had at Bangkok Bistro has been delicious. Love the green and red curry chicken and duck dishes. And they bring on the heat! (I love super spicy food.)

Schenectady is coming around. The bistro and appertivo are definitely worth the drive and see a Proctor's show while you're at it!

- by maria on Apr 29, 2008 at 3:56 PM | link

I went to Capital Thai again, and I must say I'm glad I did. I ordered the Tom Yum soup and green curry w/tofu - both takeout - and they were wonderful! I got more friendliness while I was waiting for my food, than I've gotten during entire meals at other restaurants. Next time I'll ask them to spice it up, but both dishes were extremely tasty. I want to thank you for your review, because it made me want to take a second look.

- by Zenzele on May 7, 2008 at 5:02 PM | link

I went there the first time last week. It's so bad. The food wasn't clean. I ordered chicken panang and I got some hair in dish. Oh... The worst.... my husband's dish has the rubber ring. I didn't say anything, just finished it. And it was the last time for here.

- by Sarah on Jun 2, 2008 at 10:04 PM | link

I finally got there this week. I LOVED it. They were sweet and nice. The miso soup was a suprise! The spring rolls were out fast (and were perfect fired, still a taste to them, not too much oil) and our lunches were great. I had eggplant basil with tofu and it was spicy and perfect! My friend had chicken padthai. Not a lot of veggies or peanuts, but good noodles.

All in all, I can't wait to go back! Thanks CelinaBean!!!

- by Melissa on Nov 18, 2008 at 10:26 AM | link

The Pad Thai at Plum Blossom in Troy has long been our standard for this dish, and despite years of living in New York City, we still haven't found a version we like better.

- by cookbookchick on Jan 21, 2009 at 10:03 AM | link

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