A Mighty Thai
A
Bringing new regional l avors to Manzanita
Among chattering friends, no new restaurant
has been met with the bubbling anticipation as
A Mighty Thai, which opened its doors at the
end of January. Any mention that I was going
down to the Manzanita eatery elicited multiple
guests.
I reckon the excitement can be chalked up
to simple supply and demand: A Mighty Thai
brings to the market the only Thai restaurant
south of Warrenton. Furthermore, it assumes
particular distinction in being essentially the
only place in either Manzanita or Cannon Beach
whose cuisine comes from outside Europe and
the Americas.
Nestled in Terra Cotta’s former home, right
as U.S. Highway 101 curves around Manza-
nita, the location has strong takeout potential.
But when it got busy, as I witnessed one Fri-
day night, the overwhelmed kitchen had to stop
taking to-go orders and focus on the wait-listed
dining room.
A converted house that’s split with Sisters
and Pete’s Coffee, Mighty Thai is cozy. Par-
ties bigger than four or ¿ ve might want to call
ahead. Briskly decorated, there’s a small bar
and a tight, lively ambiance. Along with Thai
beers, there are a few special cocktails, like a
Mai Thai and a Tomatillo Margarita that, with
celery salt and garlic, offered the twang of a
salsa verde. On the un-spirited front, the orange
Thai Iced Tea was bold and not overly sweet.
Before I dive into the food, I want to take a
minute to talk about the menu, which Mighty
Thai gets right. My last two reviews — of Mex-
ican and Chinese restaurants — featured volu-
minous, multi-page tomes, each with well over
100 items. Mighty Thai simpli¿ es, listing the
dishes with a choice of meat, rather than in du-
plicate. It’s not rocket science, people!
Mighty Thai separates by category: starters,
soups, curries, noodles, street food, seafood,
fried rice and “chef’s choice.” As I dined with
so many companions, I tasted a lot. And while
nothing fell completely À at, relatively few
emerged head-and-shoulders above the rest.
There were no showstoppers.
One thing everyone agreed on, however,
was the Chicken Satay appetizer ($8.95). The
four skewers, about the size of thick business
cards, had a nice char and stayed juicy. But the
peanut sauce was their raison d’etre. Chunky,
sweet and oily, there was plenty of it, enough to
use throughout the meal. (There could be some
more chicken though...) The Salad Rolls ($7.95
for two) were a more tenuous value, and the
portion I ate contained no shrimp.
14 | March 3, 2016 | coastweekend.com
As soon as I saw the curries, I knew what I
was having. It’s one of the À avors I ¿ nd most
lacking on the coast, and I was overjoyed when
the Yellow Curry ($12.95) hit its mark. The
soft, thin coconut-y broth had chunks of red
potatoes, onions and artfully chopped carrots.
The chicken, which, again, there could’ve been
more of, was very lightly cooked. Adding the
white rice made the plate substantial. Without
it, it wasn’t.
The same went for the Asian BBQ Baby Pork
Ribs ($21.95). Cooked over an open À ame like
the chicken satays, the ribs too had an exquisite
char. “Tim’s secret Asian sauce” was minimal-
ist at best. Besides a hint of sweetness, these
were quite clean ribs. The pork mostly spoke
for itself and thankfully wasn’t overcooked.
The salad’s long, thin shreds of the bright, acid-
ic papaya dovetailed with the fatty, succulent
ribs. Along for the ride was a packet of sticky
rice. While wholly enjoyable, it wasn’t cheap.
A stout, hungry diner could easily devour this
À agship dish and be left wanting.
Served in an elevated, À aming metal ves-
The Yellow Curry hit its mark l avor-wise,
but could have used more chicken.
The Tom Yum Soup is served in an elevated, l aming metal vessel.
sel, the Tom Yum Soup is offered in two vari-
eties: with choice of land dwelling meats/tofu
($11.95), or as the “Paci¿ c,” which features a
seafood melange ($18.95). With prawns, cal-
amari and scallops, the seafood varietal is top
dog. Full of Thai ginger (AKA “galangal”), the
soup is bright and fresh like springtime.
The Pho ($11.95) had a sweet, orange, demi-
like glaze. It too could’ve used a bit more meat
alongside the rice noodles, which might’ve
been achieved by ordering the “super” option
for two dollars more. The Crab Fried Rice,
however, offered an abundance of sweet, soft,
mouth
OF THE COLUMBIA
COAST WEEKEND’S LOCAL RESTAURANT REVIEW
Story and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA • mouth@coastweekend.com
A Mighty Thai
Rating:
725 Manzanita Ave. Manzanita
503-368-8424
The Chicken Satay appetizer includes
chicken skewers with a plentiful amount
of tasty peanut sauce.
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday.
PRICE: $$ – Entrées range from $11-22
SERVICE: Still working out the kinks
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN OPTIONS: Plenty
DRINKS: Full bar, coff ee, Thai iced tea
Dungeness crab meat. The Larb ($11.95), a tra-
ditional dish of ground meat with lettuce, shal-
lots, green and red onions, cilantro, mint leaves
and toasted rice is served cold, which can be a
shocker for the unexpecting. The Thai Shrimp
Ceviche ($14.95) resembled salad more than
ceviche. The Som Tum ($11.95) is a bright, lean
and crisp papaya salad that would be an ideal
side-dish offering.
Almost all the dishes on the menu are avail-
able on a ¿ ve-star heat scale. One friend opt-
ed for a four; it was certainly commiserate —
for experienced spice-lovers only. However,
throughout the dishes I sampled, a three-star
order varied from medium to nonexistent.
Part of this is due, no doubt, to a newborn
restaurant ¿ nding its way. The chefs, of Thai
heritage, certainly know the foundations of
these À avors. And indeed, with the peanuts
and papaya, and the citrus against the savory,
Mighty Thai offers tastes from outside the
North Coast bubble. As such, it is desperately
necessary. But these are ¿ rst-time restauran-
teurs with numerous kinks and inef¿ ciencies to
be ironed out, both in the front and back of the
house.
And to be fair, that’s partly because of the
stress that Mighty Thai has been put under since
the moment it opened. Despite launching in the
coldest, dreariest part of the tourist offseason,
locals have packed the place. That’s because
they — like me — so welcome the prospect of
new regional À avors on the North Coast.
KEY TO RATINGS
below average
average
good
excellent
outstanding, the best in the
Columbia-Pacific region
