All you need in life are amazing friends, good times and great food. So we asked you, our amazing friends, to tell us where to find the best food, ever. Pad Thai made your list, namely that and the spicy jungle noodles at Thai Kitchen on 28th Street.

All you need in life are amazing friends, good times and great food. So we asked you, our amazing friends, to tell us where to find the best food, ever. Pad Thai made your list, namely that and the spicy jungle noodles at Thai Kitchen on 28th Street. We’ve concluded you’re way smarter than the 9th-grade chem teacher who failed you twice thought, so we scouted it out for any reader who’s missed out on our new addiction. We spoke to one of the owners about delicious Thai cuisine and why we need rehab to get away from those damned noodles.

What’s the best: Pad Thai
Thai Kitchen – 2855 28th St. Boulder

Pad Thai is the gateway dish to Thai cuisine. Sometimes it’s a safe choice when you’re afraid to try something new, but really, it’s more like crack. To order anything else would be laughable; yet it never tastes as good as the first time, no matter how insatiably you chase that dragon. Well, we’re off the wagon again, and couldn’t be happier.

Thai Kitchen, owned and operated by a young man who simply goes by A., is in an unassuming strip mall. It’s only been open for eight months, but four other locations, scattered along the Front Range, have served authentic Thai food for 15 years. 

But this isn’t a history lesson, let’s get to the good stuff: the pad Thai.

Sauce coats every noodle, veggie and hunk of meat on the plate. No puddles, no naked noodles. The balance of spices is perfect. Hot peppers blend into the sweet, savory peanuts while the limes, garlic and cabbage add excitement to the party raging in your mouth. Then there’s the thing that sets this pad Thai apart from all others: texture. The eggs and chicken are soft and tender, and the noodles phenomenally chewy. The veggies are crisp and the peanuts add perfect crunch. If any other pad Thai is crack, this is heroin.

The Chef Says:
Name: A.

Favorite Dish: Spicy jungle noodle.

Why is your pad Thai so good?
We make it from scratch. All the ingredients. The meat that we use is all natural, fresh noodles, all fresh vegetables. We’re not just gonna cook noodles, dump sauce in, stir and put it on the plate. It’s a simple dish, but it’s not that easy to make.

How do you make it?
We start with a little bit of oil, little bit of eggs, fresh garlic, you add fresh meat, and then cook the noodles. But, you have to stir the sauce in little by little, so it’s perfect. I wish I could explain to you what goes in the sauce, but it’s our family recipe.

What should people try next?
We have the pad kee mow, which is a drunken noodle, and the spicy jungle noodle. Those are really good.

What motivates you to run a restaurant like this?
Our culture is all about food. A polite way to say, “Hello” in Thailand is to say, “Have you eaten yet?” That’s how I grew up. It’s this passion. My mom and I started this 15 years ago. She’s 72 years old and still goes to work 10 hours every day.  She says it’s what she lives for. And, when I make food for someone and they appreciate it, that’s what drives me. We just love what we do.

If you have a crazy, amazing restaurant/dish/drink you’d like for us to feature, tell us about it at contact@therooster.com