12 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
Curry & CoCo’s
Rating:
Curry &
CoCo’s
a go-go
By RYAN HUME
FOR COAST WEEKEND
There seems to be something of a Thai
food boom on the North Coast. From a sec-
ond-chance venture like Portland-trans-
plant Thai Me Up or a new location from
Manzanita’s A Mighty Thai in the former
BJ’s Pizzeria’s 101 location (both restau-
rants opening in Seaside), plus local stal-
wart Nisa’s Thai Kitchen in Warrenton and
Astoria’s beloved food truck Mai Tong, one
has to wonder if Thai cooking will become
as common in the area as New American
cuisine.
Enter Curry & CoCo Thai Eatery in
Astoria, from seasoned restaurateurs Nalin-
rat Sahunalu and Brian Fernandez. Opening
in the former location of the Mexican-men-
ued Rio Café on Ninth Street, which was
most recently occupied by the Smokehouse
Butcher Block, the space has been rejuve-
nated by a few spats of renovation. It is now
bright and open, with kitschy décor nodding
to both Sahunala’s and Fernandez’s respec-
tive heritages (Thai/Cuban), around a few
industrial splashes, like exposed wall vents.
One way Curry & CoCo is separat-
ing from the pack is with the inclusion of a
Cuban menu offered on Thursday nights to
be called Havana Nights. This is what origi-
nally piqued my interest, as it’s a most wel-
come anomaly in our regional dining scene.
So on a fi rst visit, I headed down on a
Thursday and no Cuban food. There was
not yet booze behind the handsome, alumi-
num-saddled bar. Sahunala told me these
were still on the way, with Havana Nights
beginning in earnest this June.
Admittedly,
it is prema-
ture to review
a restaurant
shortly after
they open.
Launching a
restaurant is a
very hard thing
to do, and roll-
ing things out slowly is a very sane move.
With three other restaurants under her belt
(including Yellow Curry Cozy Thai in Sea-
side), Sahunala and Fernandez know what
they are doing. It is a testament to their
expertise that the service is warm and wel-
coming and that everything already coming
out of the kitchen is gracefully plated and
delicious.
Good dishes
I was especially impressed by their han-
dling of seafood. The Angry Catfi sh ($18)
didn’t seem angry at all, but was crispy
and fi rm under a cool cloud of green curry
cream. Fisherman Madness ($18) offered
up a battered or dusted fi llet of salmon that
fl aked, still moist, into a sea of potent red
curry. The eggplant slices accompanying
this dish were also somehow nearly toothy
as apples, not even near mushy, which is in
itself a feat.
Various appetizers did their job to open
up the palette. Deep-fried chicken “Astoria
Stickers” dumplings ($8) and Crispy Tofu
($6) were both at home dunked into a sac-
charine-y Thai sweet and sour. The Rock’n
Rolls ($7), a take on the common Thai salad
roll, adds heft with the addition of lemon-
(and rising?)
125 9th St., Astoria
503-741-3499
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thurs-
day-Tuesday. Closed Wednesday.
Price: $$ – Entrées range from
$11–$18.
Service: Dine in, takeout
Vegetarian / Vegan Options:
With few exceptions, most
menu items can be made veg-
etarian or vegan.
KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM
Poor
Below average
Worth returning
Very good
Excellent, best in region
($13) weren’t just placehold-
ers, but great expressions of these
well-known dishes. The Tom Yum
comes with a sunken vessel of
Ryan Hume
pure fl ame rising from the middle
of the bowl which not only keeps
the hot and sour broth warm, but
grass chicken and could serve as a light
also reminded me of the creation of volca-
lunch all on their own.
nic islands.
As they also offer takeout, I fi gured I
If I have one caveat, it would be con-
should try that too, though I’m not sure
trolling the spice level. Wandering through
I would order the same dish to-go again.
the menu, it’s a bit hard to distinguish what
The Spicy Basil ($12 or $14) is a stir fry
will give off heat. As something of a cap-
of ground meat and a ménage of vegeta-
sicum-head, I would have loved the oppor-
bles served
tunity to fi nd
over rice
more crushed
and topped
bird’s eye
‘ONE WAY CURRY & COCO IS
with a
chilies in my
fried egg.
Spicy Basil
SEPARATING FROM THE PACK
I chose
sauce, while
IS WITH THE INCLUSION OF
pork off
I know oth-
of Sahu-
ers might be
A CUBAN MENU OFFERED
nala’s rec-
infl amed by
ON THURSDAY NIGHTS TO BE
ommenda-
the subtle,
tion. The
growing spice
CALLED HAVANA NIGHTS.’
over-easy
in the Tom
egg meant
Yum broth.
to spill
But these
and velvet up the thin, soy-based sauce
are fi rst impressions on a kitchen in its
had risen to over-medium on a car ride
infancy. What they have already accom-
across town. This seemed less of an issue of plished is well plotted and thoughtful. I am
excited to see what they will put out from
kitchen prep and more an issue of physics.
their Cuban side and what drinks they
There are plenty of menu items that would
will sling from that bar. Curry & CoCo
travel better.
deserves another visit, and maybe another
Thai staples like Pad Thai ($11-$14
depending on protein) and Tom Yum Soup
after that. CW
Curry
Pad Thai at
Curry & CoCo