Thai Pastry & Restaurant

Thai Pastry & Restaurant Restaurant Review:

By now, Thai cuisine isn't exotic to most diners. Still, Uptown’s Thai Pastry & Restaurant manages to make it seem new again. Sure, they serve all the usual suspects --- pad thai, satay, cashew chicken --- and they do them very well, but it’s the specials and less commonplace dishes that we find ourselves craving. There’s the som tom, papaya salad with shrimp, which is spicy and delicate at the same time. The appetizer of seasoned dry beef (nae dao dew) tastes much better than it sounds. More adventurous diners should try the frogs’ legs or eel (garlic or curry preparations). That said, those who opt for more traditional dishes, such as curries or noodles, will still find them a step above what they’ve had in the past. As the name implies, there are house-made pastries --- think Thai custards and marzipan-style sweets --- available in the glass case by the entrance as well. The lunch specials save dough at this already reasonably priced restaurant, as does the BYO policy. Also located at 7350 W. Lawrence Ave., Harwood Heights, 708-867-8840.