The menu at Som Boon, set in a strip center at Durham and the feeder of I-10, is a little larger than the typical local Thai restaurant. Though enticing, I have not explored very much of it, as the lunch specials are such a good value and done quite well, it regularly draws a midday detour from me. Som Boon has eight familiar options for lunch for just $13, These include a fried eggroll or a light soup, and sometimes both.
There are the popular wide rice noodle dishes pad se ew and pad kee mao, the ubiquitous pad Thai and the panang and green curries, Thai fried rice, cashew chicken, and stir fried vegetables. Something for everyone. These lunch dishes are also customizable, more so than elsewhere. Each, excepting the cashew chicken, of course, can be made with one of a half-dozen centerpieces: beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, tofu, or mixed vegetables. And no additional charge for beef or shrimp as at every other inexpensive Thai restaurant of which I am familiar. The restaurant doesn’t skimp with the amount of proteins, either. With most served with steamed jasmine rice, a lunch visit will be satiating. I usually opt for one of the curries and haven’t yet been disappointed and finishing the sauces to the last drop.
The setting is casual, smart and contemporary, if done-on-the-cheap and in line with the prices and setting. Service is noticeably attentive and professional, which is another distinguishing item. Orders arrive quickly from the kitchen. There are at least a half-dozen homey Thai restaurants that are closer to me in the Fourth Ward, but Som Boon is a cut above. But what is most distinctive aspect is its spicing. I’ve thought that in the much more white-bread, blander, and less diverse swaths of the country, the heat at Som Boon would be entirely unacceptable for the vast majority of its customers. This restaurant could not exist as is in Iowa. The lowest level, mild, might earn the top three chiles. I enjoy spice, but Som Boon can be too much for me. Most of the time, the medium is too spicy. Medium. There is also hot and Thai hot. For the Thai customers.
Som Boon
1801 Durham (at I-10), 77007, (713) 993-6241
somboonthaikitchen.com
There are the popular wide rice noodle dishes pad se ew and pad kee mao, the ubiquitous pad Thai and the panang and green curries, Thai fried rice, cashew chicken, and stir fried vegetables. Something for everyone. These lunch dishes are also customizable, more so than elsewhere. Each, excepting the cashew chicken, of course, can be made with one of a half-dozen centerpieces: beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, tofu, or mixed vegetables. And no additional charge for beef or shrimp as at every other inexpensive Thai restaurant of which I am familiar. The restaurant doesn’t skimp with the amount of proteins, either. With most served with steamed jasmine rice, a lunch visit will be satiating. I usually opt for one of the curries and haven’t yet been disappointed and finishing the sauces to the last drop.
The setting is casual, smart and contemporary, if done-on-the-cheap and in line with the prices and setting. Service is noticeably attentive and professional, which is another distinguishing item. Orders arrive quickly from the kitchen. There are at least a half-dozen homey Thai restaurants that are closer to me in the Fourth Ward, but Som Boon is a cut above. But what is most distinctive aspect is its spicing. I’ve thought that in the much more white-bread, blander, and less diverse swaths of the country, the heat at Som Boon would be entirely unacceptable for the vast majority of its customers. This restaurant could not exist as is in Iowa. The lowest level, mild, might earn the top three chiles. I enjoy spice, but Som Boon can be too much for me. Most of the time, the medium is too spicy. Medium. There is also hot and Thai hot. For the Thai customers.
Som Boon
1801 Durham (at I-10), 77007, (713) 993-6241
somboonthaikitchen.com
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