There are two things I would improve about the Mekong Cafe.
1. Move to somewhere closer to downtown, or even to downtown itself.
2. Expand the parking lot.
Both of these recommendations are for one simple reason: the food is incredible, but the restaurant is practically the size of Harry Potter’s closet under the stairs.
Ok, maybe not that small, but the parking lot is.
Fortunately, what it lacks in parking, it makes up in food. I had the Padang Beef in a lunch special, which means for about $7.50 I had a plate of padang, a crispy egg roll, and a small scoop of pad thai. It’s a good deal, if a good deal out-of-the-way…
But that’s beside the point. The point is: this is good food. Very good food. I ordered my padang at “medium” spicy strength, which, to my western taste buds puts it at about the level at which my nose begins to run. The sauce was a red, licorice-like flavor, which I believe was some kind of Thai basil, just short of thick. Pieces of meat were plentiful and sliced thin but cooked to tender. Green peppers (which I categorically don’t eat), carrots and fresh zucchini rounded out the ingredients.
If you can get there, get there fast. Mekong has my vote, if not my more regular patronage. It’s just too far out-of-the-way for me.
Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 8/10 (like all Thai restaurants, check out the restroom…they’re unlike anything this side of the Pacific)
Food: 23/25
Parking: 1/5 (I parked down the street in an abandoned DQ lot)
Eat-ability Quotient (an average of scores): 8/10
