9 replies to this topic

[Kibbee Nayee]

I'll go out on a limb and speculate that Thai restaurants number the largest total of ethnic restaurants in our metropolitan area. Or at least it seems that way.

Thai Farm is right off Shady Grove in the northern part of the huge expanse called Rockville. It looks relatively fresh and new, clean and polished, with the traditional Americanized Thai offerings. I had the Pad Thai, which was generously portioned, but no better nor worse than any previous rendering of this dish I've had. There was a lingering sweetness to the dish, which wasn't necessarily off-putting but certainly differentiated the recipe from most others I've tasted.

Americanized Thai restaurants are ubiquitous. There must be hundreds in our area. They are mostly in the category of Thai Farm -- nice enough to return to, but not necessarily distinguishable from the rest. I'll probably try some other items on the menu over time....

http://www.thaifarmrestaurant.com/

[DanielK]

Seconded - absolutely middle-of-the-road Americanized Thai food. Fine if you're in the 'hood, but if you have the 15 minutes to drive to Germantown for Sabai Sabai instead, do it every time.

[Heather]

Thai Farm is right off Shady Grove in the northern part of the huge expanse called Rockville. It looks relatively fresh and new, clean and polished

Not especially new, as I would swear that we ate there a couple of times before my 10 year old was born.

They don't have to be anything exceptional, because they have that giant King Farm subdivision as their customer base. Proximity & delivery trump authenticity for most, especially on weeknights.

[Popover]

We hadn't been there in a while (places come and go from our orbit), but we went a couple of times recently and although the food hasn't changed a bit (there is something to be said for consistency, right?) the service was a bit "off". On the first visit we were served by a young girl who had trouble with the order. Brought the food, everything good. However, no spare/clean plate. The two dishes that DH and I ordered were placed in front of us on their serving plates. Previously we have been given our own clean plate and the orders were placed in the center of the table so that we could share. Not this time. We thought it was a fluke and didn't want to give anyone a hard time so just picked off one another's plates for the duration of the meal. Second time there, same thing happens! Different server so I have to think this is now their policy. Is this some green measure to save on washing up plates or something? Is this a trend I am missing?

[DonRocks]

I'll go out on a limb and speculate that Thai restaurants number the largest total of ethnic restaurants in our metropolitan area. Or at least it seems that way.

Thai Farm is right off Shady Grove in the northern part of the huge expanse called Rockville. It looks relatively fresh and new, clean and polished, with the traditional Americanized Thai offerings. I had the Pad Thai, which was generously portioned, but no better nor worse than any previous rendering of this dish I've had. There was a lingering sweetness to the dish, which wasn't necessarily off-putting but certainly differentiated the recipe from most others I've tasted.

Americanized Thai restaurants are ubiquitous. There must be hundreds in our area. They are mostly in the category of Thai Farm -- nice enough to return to, but not necessarily distinguishable from the rest. I'll probably try some other items on the menu over time....

http://www.thaifarmrestaurant.com/

I'm a little surprised they don't deliver (or at least don't advertise delivery on their website).

I think there are (still) many more Chinese restaurants than there are Thai restaurants, but I'm going to make a statement which some will probably vehemently disagree with: I think bad Thai food is still a reasonably safe bet. I don't know if it's the sugar combined with whatever spices they use, but there's something about the basic flavors, even of the most Americanized Thai, that aren't all that bad. Agree? Disagree? (Obviously, this is a candidate for a separate thread.)

[DanielK]

I'm a little surprised they don't deliver (or at least don't advertise delivery on their website).

They do deliver, and it is on the website. It's a small flash app below the address. But it's a rotating banner with other notices, so you might not have seen it.

[LauraB]

They don't have to be anything exceptional, because they have that giant King Farm subdivision as their customer base. Proximity & delivery trump authenticity for most, especially on weeknights.

Completely agree with Heather. We lived in King Farm for one year several years ago and I can't count the number of times we got carry-out from Thai Farm. Not because we loved it, but because it was really convenient and one of the better options in the immediate area. The food was adequate, but nothing special. Early on, we actually dined in and decided that carry-out was a better deal because the service and ambiance were not all that. Our very last visit to Thai Farm was in 2008 and, not long after we were seated, a fire alarm went off and kept blaring for over 15 minutes, despite the lack of a fire. We fled and shortly after that we moved a few miles away from King Farm and yet have never felt a need to go back or order carry-out.

[JPW]

I used to go there from time to time when I worked for a different company. My best guesstimate is that they opened in 2004/5. Pretty much share the opinion of everyone else - fine if you happen to be in King Farm, but there are better Thai options around.

[dcs]

As Ted Baxter once said, "I'll make it anonymous!"

[porcupine]

I used to go there from time to time when I worked for a different company. My best guesstimate is that they opened in 2004/5. Pretty much share the opinion of everyone else - fine if you happen to be in King Farm, but there are better Thai options around.

Copied and pasted from another website; I wrote this in November of 2003. I think the place was fairly new then.

"Once upon a time, back in the mid-1980s, I believe, someone proclaimed Thai to be the new Chinese. Unfortunately, that person was right. The problem is, in the greater DC area Thai food went from being truly exotic to rather run-of-the-mill. As more restaurateurs cashed in on the novelty, the novelty wore off. There’s not really anything bad about Thai Farm. It’s just average food in an average setting (once again the spirit of Tara Thai rears its boring head). If I worked nearby, I’d have lunch here once in a while, or get carryout for dinner. But I’d never make a destination of this place."

I went on to describe the dishes but there's nothing of interest in that now.