Thai Elephant

2015 is winding down. By November, I still had three restaurants left to visit on my 2015 To Dine Challenge list. Luckily, I knew that I had some fellow diners all lined up to try Thai Elephant in Kamm's Corners.

The quaint restaurant is located on Lorain Avenue, and they are open seven days a week for dinner. They have recently changed their hours, so be careful. The sign on the door, and hours listed online, and not currently accurate.

A group of six of us met at Thai Elephant for dinner one chilly evening two weeks ago. It was a perfect night for Thai food. The decor and atmosphere is pretty typical, but warm and inviting. The smells from the kitchen were intoxicating as soon as we walked in the door. Bring on the curry! 

Our table shared a couple of appetizers, like the Crispy Shrimp and Dumplings. Both enjoyable, and easy to share.

I had to order the Pad Thai, because I heard that it was very good. I appreciated that I was given several spice level options, which isn't always the case for Pad Thai. Mr. H and I were doing some sharing, so I had to order it at a "medium" level. Normally, I order "Thai hot" for everything. Our server immediately offered to bring out a spicy chile sauce that could be added to the dishes to increase the level of heat. I was grateful, and it did the trick!

This was a solid Pad Thai, and much better than some other local versions that I've had around town.

However, the real star of the meal was the Massaman Curry that Mr. H ordered for us to share. The peanut-based curry sauce is my favorite Thai dish, and this was hands-down the best version that I've tasted in Greater Cleveland.

The sauce was thicker than most, almost like stew or thick gravy. It had wonderful flavor, and I was only able to steal a couple of bites from Mr. H. So much for "sharing," huh? I took that as a good sign. I used to claim that my favorite version was from Thai Gourmet in Independence. I still appreciate that they use additional vegetables, like peppers, that are a bit lighter than the traditional potato and carrot that is served with Massaman Curry.

Worth noting- This restaurant is BYOB!

We'll definitely be back to Thai Elephant. A highlight from the 2015 list, for sure.

Don't forget that it's that time of year. I want to hear from YOU on your restaurant ideas for the 2016 To Dine Challenge. I'll pick 10 from your suggestions, and I'll challenge myself to dine at all of them in the upcoming year. Comment on the blog post here. Where do you want to send me next year?

Thai Elephant
16610 Lorain Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44111
216-671-9999