Gourmet de l'Ouest: Patpong
A feature in which SFist brings attention to restaurants in the oft-overlooked Richmond and Sunset districts. We hope you're inspired to try new some new places, and we'd love to hear recommendations of Westside joints you'd like to see reviewed, so please send your thoughts our way, or leave them in the comments.
Out in the Sunset, you can't swing a cat without hitting a pretty decent Thai restaurant. We're reminded of the line in Six Degrees of Separation, where dining in New York is described as "genius on every corner". While we're not there quite yet, it's tempting to paraphrase and say "damn good Panang curry on every block." When it's safe to assume that most Thai places are going to serve pretty solid cuisine, what makes one choose one over the other? A lot of times it's the smaller details that make the difference, which is why we will cross the park to go to the Richmond district's Patpong, at 25th and Clement.
We've eaten there several times in the past, and went there again tonight in preparation for this review (oh, the things SFist endures for you readers). Every time we go there we're struck by the excellent service, the lovely decor, and the food that really raises the bar for Westside Thai cuisine.
Photo from Patpong's site, but it doesn't really do the place justice
Last night was cold, rainy, and miserable, and the cozy atmosphere of Patpong went a long way to make up for that. The small dining area strikes a nice balance with tradational Thai decorations and furniture, without making you feel like Kirstie Alley's going to start screaming at you. We started with hot Jasmine tea (95 cents) and the Fried Sweet Potatoes appetizer ($4.50). They arrived batter dipped and with honey, sort of like tropical french fries. They weren't the most exciting food we ever ate (but that's asking a lot of most potato dishes), but they were solid, flavorful, and fried, which we always consider a plus.
For dinner we split an order of the Garlic Pepper Prawns ($9.95) and an order of their Crab Meat Fried Rice ($8.50). We've had both of these entrees before, and were pleased anew with our prawns, which are served with mushrooms in a spicy garlic sauce. If you're not a garlic fan, these are not for you, as there look to be about 700 cloves of garlic flavoring the dish, which was presented most attractively.
Sure, fried rice is fried rice, and it's pretty much the most gringo thing you can eat, ever. But we gave up trying to be cool a long time ago, which meant seeing fewer Oscar-nominated films and eating a lot more "inauthentic" foods. Since that pivitoal moment in our lives, we've become quite the experts in fried rice, and we like Patpong's the most of any we've had recently. It's fluffy, not too greasy or salty, and flavorful. Our favorite is the crab, because you get generous chunks of sweet crab in your rice. It's so good that no sauce is necessary to augment the fried rice experience, you can just shovel it down straight.
On other occasions we've had their yellow, red, and Panang curries (all $7.50 each), all of which have been pleasantly complex and flavorful. We feel that even crappy curry is still pretty darned good, but as with their other dishes, Patpong really raises the bar. The same could be said for the industry-standard Som Tum (Papaya Salad) ($6.95). Like curry, this salad is something you can get at any Thai restaurant in San Francisco, but Patpong's has a delicacy of flavor and a thoughtfulness of preparation that puts it above many we have tried.
Of course we finished with the fried banana and coconut ice cream, which was also excellent. We finished the meal happy, satisfied, and only $36 poorer, including a generous tip.
We know that you might feel there's no reason to come all the way out to 25th and Clement for Thai food when you probably have a zillion in a four-block radius from your home, and you're not necessarily going to take our word for it. But the next time you're out at 25th and Clement (Maybe you're at the 4 Star for the Spring Asian Film Festival), do yourself a favor and stop by Patpong. We feel they manage to take these Thai restaurant standards and refine them to a level above the typical, and we suspect that after dining there, you'll see what we mean.
Patpong
2415 Clement Street, between 25th and 26th
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 379-9726
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Daily
(Free Delivery in the Richmond District, 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.)
One hour free parking (Clement and 24th Street) with dinner, parking otherwise is moderately difficult.