A Room With a Chew

Do homos flock to Thai restaurants or do Thai restaurants flock to homos? Either way, it seems like any respectable gayborhood these days has as many of them as there are noodles in an order of pad Thai. Perhaps it’s only natural given that gay life is widely tolerated in Thailand, an anomaly in Asia. As such, it has been a mecca for gay tourism, particularly for the older set who may crave Thai cuisine once back home. It doesn’t hurt that it’s usually a very economical choice, making it popular with the youngsters. Universal appeal is a recipe for success.

While I typically like to seek out new or relatively unknown spots, it’s occasionally worth revisiting old favorites. The purpose is twofold: to honor a longstanding friend of the community and to get reassurance that it still holds up to scrutiny.

In this case, the restaurant definitely flocked to the homos. Room Service burst onto the vibrant Chelsea scene nearly 10 years ago and was an immediate hit with Chelsea boys, those trendsetting fashionistas who are now well into their 30s and, for the most part, no longer intolerable snobs. When it became apparent that the boys were once again migrating uptown, as they’d previously done from the Village, these savvy Thais relocated to Hell’s Kitchen.

Part of the reason the Chelsea location wowed everyone was its decor. It was glam and fun, and everyone wanted to be in the swing by the window. The current Hell’s Kitchen spot is a bit more restrained but still very stylish and welcoming. The food didn’t suffer in the move either. In fact, Room Service still has one of the most inventive Thai menus in the city.

On a recent visit I started with curry puffs, a wonderful combo of ground chicken, potatoes, and a subtle yellow curry sauce, served at exactly the right temperature—no scalded tongues here. Also on hand were the excellent shrimp parcels, battered and deep fried. The assorted golden fritters included some of the same shrimp and the addition of interesting dumplings, spring rolls, and a flavorless sesame tofu log that was one of the evening’s only disappointments. If you’re a fan of tom kha soup, order it here—it’s one of the best in New York. The red curry certainly won’t disappoint either; classically prepared, the generous portion of chicken was fragrant and tender in its sauce. The delicious grilled ginger honey pork chops, on the other hand, were rather chewy, but that’s not unusual for thin chops like these, so I gave the kitchen a pass.

We did, however, find fault with the service. Even though the place was half full, the entire wait staff was congregated around the service center way at the back of the restaurant, requiring vigorous waving to get their attention. Let’s hope this was just an off night, as the rest of the meal was enjoyable—as it has been for a decade.

Room Service, 690 Ninth Ave (47th/48th Sts), 212-582-0999, roomservicerestaurant.com.