I recently moved to Toronto’s Church and Wellesley Gay-bourhood this past summer. Just below my apartment on Yonge Street at Alexander sits Pi Tom’s Restaurant. This Thai restaurant has somewhat of an iconic patio that many a gay enjoy during the warm months of the year. The space is covered in a tacky mix of rainbow flags and traditional Thai art and sculpture. Pi Tom’s pretty much defines “Canadian Thai Cooking,” which is always best described as mediocre. Glancing at the menu I was unimpressed by the fact that coleslaw was an option for one of the dishes (really?) and two Pad Thai dishes were available (one specifically stating it contained ketchup rather than tamarind). I absolutely loath inauthentic cuisine! What drives me nuts is that their website has an entire tab dedicated to “Authentic Thai Cuisine!” #fail
Giving the menu a quick glance it was evident that the restaurant basically had about six sauces in the back of the kitchen all of which you could order with either vegetables or a different protein: tofu, duck, chicken, beef, pork, shrimp and lamb. Pi Tom’s is lame and really reminded me about how passionate I am about showcasing authentic and dare I say righteous foods. I left the restaurant feeling like a suffragette demanding the vote (and running about like a mad woman spewing my If you find yourself reading this and know in your heart you think Pi Tom’s is the best Thai food you have ever tasted please do your SELF a favour and visit Sukothai or Khao San Road. Change your mind, Change your life…thank me later.
Matthew Kofsky and I sampled:
Beef Satay
Mango Salad
Papaya Salad
Authentic Pad Thai
Thai rice noodles stir fried with chicken, shrimp, tofu, bean sprouts in a sweet and sour tamarind and coconut sauce wrapped in a fried egg crepe
Beef Panang Curry
Sliced beef in a creamy and spicy panang curry with coconut milk
Pineapple Fried Rice
Jasmine rice stir-fried with shrimp, chicken, pineapple, cashews
