The Smoke Rise and Kinnelon Blog: Dee’s Thai Cuisine & Diner

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Dee’s Thai Cuisine & Diner – Fantastic Food Near Kinnelon NJ

Dee's Thai Cuisine and Diner is in Pompton Lakes, NJ - that is, only 10 minutes from Kinnelon - and offers fantastic Thai food. It does! You need to go.

Here's the view looking up -- as you enter.

I was hoping for, but not counting on, good Thai food from this restaurant in Pompton Lakes right on the main drag in a downtown location, and looking very much like the diner it was. The place is nicely decorated in the inside and quite welcoming, in contrast to the exterior.

What we got was truly great Thai food, better than any other Thai restaurant in northern NJ that I have tried, except for Wondee’s and Bangkok Garden in Hackensack.

We all know there is a shortage of good restaurants in our neck of the woods. And there aren’t very many good ethnic restaurants either.

I’ll come right out and say that the Thai restaurant in Boonton is terrible (all right that’s not nice of me, but geez, the food is awful), and we have tried Khun Thon, the Thai restaurant in West Milford recently –it’s OK, but diminished for the American palate and not too interesting.

But Dee’s Thai is the real thing, rivaling restaurants in the city for flavor and authentic preparation. We went as two couples with children, and as is the case with many Thai restaurants, the children were welcomed and had a very good time, but the adults had an even better time. Service was surprisingly quick, also kid friendly.

We ordered too much food, including most of the appetizers, some of the salads and a couple of the main courses. The flavors were bright and deep and completely in tune with the four pillars of Thai cuisine – sweet, sour, salty and hot – all in balance.

Wonderful Chicken Satay with 2 dipping sauces, was moist and sweet and good for kids and adults; Thai Steamed Dumplings were excellent, as was the Papaya Salad; the Duck Salad was satisfying with perfectly cooked duck and great citrus flavors.

Lastly and a great finale were the Pad Thai and Green Curry Pork which were both quite a bit beyond usual restaurant fare, with the tamarind flavor of the Pad Thai more developed than I had expected, and the depth of flavor of the coconut milk and kaffir lime in the Green Curry a surprise. We ordered (I ordered) an extra Green Curry to go.

Not a single dish was less than very good and most were great. Oddly, Dee's does American diner food in the AM, as well as Thai food the rest of the day.

Dee's Thai has only been open since November and needs you!

We really want this restaurant to do well and that means people have to go there – so that’s what I encourage you to do.

BYOB. Open 7 days. No excuses, now. Go.

Now I want a really good Vietnamese reataurant ... maybe in Denville, or even Lincoln Park ...

~ Ted