oiled noodles

Faithful readers,

We're back. And better. Or we hope so...

On November 7, a cargo ship crashed into the Bay Bridge and flooded our iconic Bay with oil, killing thousands of birds and gunking up our shorelines. Most importantly, I had to work nonstop at my environmentalist day job. 14-hour work days left no time for sleep, but a girl has to eat.

Enter my workday standby, King of Thai Noodles. Two Powell locations: 5th street with bright purple walls and hectic O'Farrell. Both feature plentiful condiment carts full of hot and spicies and ground peanuts. Wonderful! The price is right - dollars cheaper than the fabulously fancy Osha Thai near Montgomery. And the noodles are plentiful, though they don't heat up that well (few pad thais do!). Tofu and egg reasonably plentiful. Sauce just right even without fish sauce, though I do heavily rely on the condiments mentioned previously. Lots of veggies crispily cooked. Tasty fried egg rolls, if you care about such sides. Cucumber salad made up up soggy cukes and bitter onions; ick. Ambiance is unremarkable at both places - service and purple haze taints the 5th Street shop and dingy walls and crowd brings down the Union Square bustle of O'Farrell.

I give King of Thai Noodles a combined 3.5 tofu chunks. A solid effort well worth lunch.

led