top thai.

Top Thai, the takeout/delivery restaurant across the street from me, just served me the best Thai food I've had in maybe 5 years: every bite I thought would be my last wasn't. The secret was careful prep and excellent wok technique: each vegetable was cut and cooked nearly perfectly, mushrooms bursting with...whatever would be inside mushrooms (water?), red peppers and green beans still proudly crisp, and my favorite little bitter green eggplants in there doin' they thing as well. The kaffir, basil, and cilantro were fresh, the fish sauce was very strong in all the right places, and the fresh red chiles were thrown in by the tiny Asian fistful. Top Thai's always been good, but tonight was like a different kitchen altogether. Yay me.

UPDATE: We've now eaten there twice more since this post, and...it appears that this night was a fluke. It's been fine every time, but more like the same level of quality it's always been, with none of the subtlety of this first night.