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Monday, March 30, 2009

For the love of Chok Chai!

As if I needed a reminder that independent and local is the way to dine, we recently ate at two chains (PF Chang’s and Bahama Breeze) that confirmed this thought. While neither meal was “bad,” neither one was particularly outstanding, either.

But you know what meal was outstanding? Saturday night’s carry out from Chok Chai! Which is what makes it all the more worrisome to have heard that they are currently struggling for business. You may remember that last year the restaurant moved from its original location on Harford Road just south of Northern Parkway, to about 2 blocks above Northern Parkway. It took a few months to reopen in their new and improved location, and apparently they haven’t recovered all of their customers yet.

I know there are some loyal Harford Road Hon readers who are Chok Chai fans, and I implore you to give them some business and show them some love. The owners/chefs are struggling and losing money each week. The economy, the move, who knows why. Certainly not the food, which is outstanding and a good value, too. I went for comfort food on Saturday, as I slowly watched my NCAA winnings fading away. Pad thai and Tom yum soup – and a heart-shaped carrot giving me love.

If you haven’t tried Chok Chai before, I encourage you to walk – no, run! – there straightaway.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would hate to see them go under. While I am not really happy with their $20 credit card minimum, their food is *so* good.

mpwilkes said...

I will be ordering there this week. We've only gone once since they moved... Being closed for a few months was probably the worst thing. People get "out" of habits very easily. I love Chok Chai, and even I stopped thinking about them as a choice during that time. Thanks for the info!

Anonymous said...

I too really like the food at Chok Chai. I used to eat there once a week years ago, when pad thai was $6.25. But now that the same dish is about $9.00 and the portion is so small, it's just too steep.

And they are just shooting themselves in the foot with the credit card minimum.

Anonymous said...

We Americans use credit cards too much. i have no problem with the minimum. Just use cash. And of course their prices have gone up -- just like everywhere else.