Times Square and good food is usually considered an oxymoron. With most Times Square dining establishments catering to tourists and theater goers, prices are oven high and quality tends to be low, but if you know where to look, there are plenty of great eats in the neighborhood worth visiting. Pongsri Thai, the oldest family-run Thai restaurant in NYC and one of my favorites, sits in the midst of neon tickers, but its traditional decor and standout food quickly makes you forget the madness outside their four walls.
We started with my favorite dish of the whole meal, a Coconut Omelet appetizer consisting of a thin omelet crepe stuffed with shredded coconut, carrots, bean sprouts and chopped peanuts, served with special thai sauce and cucumber salad. I typically think of eggs as being savory, but the sweetness and crunchiness of the coconut and carrots with the salty peanuts, wrapped in the thin, fluffy omelet crepe was like a Thai party in my mouth — I couldn’t get enough.
Pongsri Coconut Omelette
And while I typically go the boring Pad Thai route when ordering from any random take-out joint, we ordered up a delicious Pad Key Mao — stir-fried broad rice noodles with herbs, chinese broccoli and chili paste with chicken and a make-your-brow-sweat Thai Red Curry with bamboo shoots, bell peppers and coconut milk. Mmmmm — just look at the pictures, they speak for themselves. Lots of good, fresh veg tossed in full-of-flavor sauces. Put either these over the white fluffy sticky rice that absorbs all that goodness and you’ve got yourself a memorable meal.
Pongsri Pad See Ew
Pongsri Thai Red Curry
The Skim: Put the pad thai aside and pick up something new at Pongsri. With hand cut noodles, fresh veg and intense sauces, you will come away with tasty thai memories of Times Square no matter what you order.
Map: {244 West 48th Street btw 8th Ave & Broadway}
Reservations: Not Taken!
Phone: 212-582-3392
8.ate@eight 
Try the Penang curry next time…it’s delicious!!!