Two trendy Thai places two days in a row? Yep. Yesterday’s RIN made me think about Planet Thai 212 right downstairs from my work. I just walked by the Brooklyn Planet Thai this weekend and noticed it had closed. What happened? They were always busy when I went there –whereas the Manhattan one was always empty (at least during lunch). I remember when I first moved to New York, I thought Sea and Planet Thai was the best thing in the world –hip, exotic, affordable. Well I haven’t been to either Planet Thai since I started my food blog over a year ago, so I figure I’d revisit and also because I felt a little sorry for them.
There was a dumpling in coconut soup lunch special that I remembered enjoying a lot. Dumplings in a creamy Tom Kha/coconut soup with the option to have flat noodles and crispy toasted garlic topping, hot and delicious in an Asian clay pot. This is what I was going to food blog. I headed down with Sam and Emilio. They opted for prix fixe for $15.99 (appetizer, entree and dessert). I only had my eyes set on the dumplings in coconut soup.
When time came to order, two servers had an awkward bickering moment right in front of us. One guy came to take our order because the other one was too slow. Then the second one came and they gave each other a dirty look. It was a little weird. I was ordering the dumpling in coconut soup, but the waitress acted like I was insane. Then I looked back at the menu and noticed they took off that one option for the coconut soup. You can only now get miso or clear chicken broth, which is weird because they still serve Tom Kha soup. I asked about it again and she acted like was I stupid and can’t read, which I suppose is understandable because I didn’t read the menu …but still. So I went with the Tom Yum Noodle Soup.
I sat there watching Sam and Emilio eating their appetizers. Then our entrees came out and I asked about my house salad that comes with my order. They said it doesn’t come with it, which is weird because I had taken a photo of the menu right where it says it does. My Tom Yum soup was disappointing. The shrimp overcooked, looking beat-up and rubbery. There was no cool clay pot. I kept thinking about my missing salad.
What happened to Planet Thai? They took the best thing off the menu (even though they have everything to make it). Lunch prices have gone up. It seems emptier everyday I walk by. There’s an old poster-board in the window of the guest chef that started over a year ago. Only great thing out of this was when I Googled searched the guest chef’s name to see who he was –Googlewhack! My first!
Planet Thai 212 – 30 W 24th St (btw 5th & 6th Ave) New York 10010
…reopened as Boyd Thai II
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