Fit To Be Thai'd

 
Entre nous, I duck into Little Basil (153 E 26th St, btwn Lexington/Third Aves, 212-689-1444, LittleBasil.com) on the occasional afternoon for their incredible Pad See-Ew ($8) with frizzled egg, thin slices of firm chicken and wide noodles making a bed where wilted Asian broccoli nestles with garlic and soy sauce. I’ve researched Thai restaurants in different neighborhoods for the best preparation of this dish but I love it most herea. Plus, they always seem to have an unexpectedly discriminating, rotating list of wines, such as a verdant white Verdicchio ($8) or a clean, satisfying Sauvignon Blanc ($8).
 
At Thai Chan-Yo (233 Ninth Ave, btwn 24th/25th Sts, 212-488-2170, ThaiChaiYoNYC.com) neither the Pad See-Ew or the wine is as good as Little Basil but there’s a great bargain during lunch—$6.95 specials include a salad and spring rolls, jasmine rice or some similar combination. Other classics include the Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao), flat rice noodles with egg and vegetables in a lip-licking spicy sauce.
 
When seated at Kittichai (60 Thompson St, btwn Broome/Spring Sts, 212-219-2000, KittichaiRestaurant.com) in the 60 Thompson Hotel, by all means try the wonderful Kittichai Omelette ($14) at brunch or Pad Thai ($14) with the garlic chive and peanuts, draped in an elegant crêpe.
 
Thai Select (472 Ninth Ave, btwn 36th/37th Sts, 212-695-9920, ThaiSelectNYC.com) has an interesting innovation in the Pad Thai Spring Roll ($4.95) and it is quite good but look out for the Pork Poppers ($6.95), which are alarmingly fantastic! Seasoned pieces of pork jerky are like crispy ends of boneless spare ribs or pork French fries, if you will.
 
At Rin (265 W 23rd St, btwn Seventh/Eighth Aves, 212-675-2988) vegetarian duck is our choice for the Mussaman Curry ($9)—it arrives with a conical teat of white rice, the faux fowl immersed in mild coconut curry sauce and flavored with what I imagine is tamarind. But don’t stop there; order the delicious oven-cooked Citrus Salmon ($16) with cashews, shallots, cucumber and a hint of green apple. The grilled skin is provoked by a citrus lime sauce to suitably finish it all off, leaving you perfectly fit to be Thai’d!    N