we have a new favorite!. rather than go to our usual thai haunt on saturday night we invited our friends to join us at the highly praised coconut thai grill to see what all the talk was about! tucked away in a rather odd spot on the edge of carrollton, we felt like we hit the culinary jackpot. in an old long john silver's outpost, this amazing place had plans for us to have a thoroughly enjoyable evening. we shared the corn patties a traditional spring roll, and a fried version. all were fresh and tasty. we moved on to splitting a green papaya salad in a lime vinaigrette. wow wow wow! crushed peanuts and green beans highlighted the perfectly julienned papaya. when i fell out of my chair, i knew that the papaya would help the bruising. our foursome then shared a variety of entrees, all different, all review worthy. the restaurant's signature dish, coconut chicken was served with perfectly moist and sticky rice and an unusual tamarind sauce. it was decided that a trip to coconut thai grill would not be complete without ordering this entree. we also went for the thai menu staple, pad thai. they also offered a "crispy" pad thai made with flat noodles but we opted for the standard version. it was, by far, the best in dallas! for something unique we ordered chicken larb, finely ground chicken, peanuts, and peppermint infused with basil and mint in a lime sauce. wow again. it went very quickly at our table. for our final selection we chose pad ke maow. the flat noodled dish was again the best we've ever had. there was no room for the much lauded desserts offered at coconut thai grill but we saw them pouring out of the kitchen and vowed that we would save room on our next visit.
it's not just the food that made our evening special. the ambiance from the family created artwork that decorated the walls to the lighting, to the music of ben folds and the like, our evening seemed to be complete. but we were in for a treat when a senior citizen came out of the kitchen with an apron on and introduced herself as momma, the owner. she was proud to say that she had prepared our dinner tonight as she does every night for all customers. it was such a nice way to personalize our experience. we can't wait till the weather is warmer and we can return to their quaint outdoor patio surrounded by tiki torches. somehow, someway, we will put out of our minds that we on sitting on beltline road and let the music, food, and friendly family service transport us to a beach on the coast of thailand.