Thai Food Paradise
What this foodstroll is
How to make a daytrip out of Elmhurst, Queens.
Why this foodstroll works
Elmhurst, Queens is the contemporary epicenter of Thai cooking and culture in NYC, and boasts many of the city’s best Thai restaurants and markets. But its colonial history is just as interesting, being the second oldest town in Queens County, settled by the Dutch in 1652. It’s small enough to walk around, and you can stroll from the oldest church building in NYC to an amazing Thai Buddhist Temple in just a few minutes. If you’re looking for a longer foodstroll, Elmhurst’s central location is perfect as a launchpad for bigger Queens adventures. The Thai spots we’re recommending are among the very best in NYC, with large menus and budget conscious prices, making them a great fit for families.
Strolling
The Thai spots are next to one another, and the entire stroll between the food spots and Temple, including a stop at either market and both churches, is about a mile. It’s just barely long enough to get a sense for the neighborhood.
Elmhurst is very centrally located, and if you’d like to learn more about things to do in the area, check out foodstrolls like An Afternoon in Corona Park, An Afternoon in LIC, Plane Spotting and Pakistani Food, or The Many Museums of LIC.
Wat Buddha Thai Thavorn Vanaram is an active Buddhist Temple in Elmhurst, with impressive Buddha statues (including one of the iconic Reclining Buddha), and of course great portraits of the Thai monarchy. During daytime hours the Temple is open and you can walk around, just be mindful and don’t forget to remove your shoes.
Because it is an active place of worship, there are Monks everywhere. They’re all very warm and welcoming, just don’t challenge one to a staring contest! If you feel funny about bringing noisy kids inside, it’s perfectly fine to walk by without going in.
Elmhurst (called Newtown at the time) was incorporated by the Dutch in 1652, but administered by England after 1664. However it maintained strong Dutch roots, and a congregation of Dutch immigrants built the Reformed Church of Newtown in 1731. The current Greek Revival structure was constructed in 1832, and is one of the few remaining all wood church buildings in the city.
For an even older church, look one block to the south on Broadway. There sits the former St. James Church, an Anglican Mission church built in 1736! Today the English Colonial structure is the oldest remaining church building in NYC.
Back to present day, Elmhurst bears no resemblance to its quiet rural past. Once you get off the busy main drags of Broadway and Woodside Avenue, it’s a diverse residential neighborhood full of single family homes that look like this. They may not have the architectural charm of the older boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, but they’re nice nonetheless.
Flushing Meadows Corona Park and all it’s attractions are just a 10 minute drive from Elmhurst. The Queens Zoo inside the park is walkable in less than an hour, and has some really cool animals. The Unisphere and Hall of Science were built for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The Queens Museum was built in 1972, but has amongst its permanent collection an amazing panorama of NYC, originally built for the World’s Fair and updated constantly ever since.
Going 10 minutes in the other direction you’ll find the Museum of the Moving Image, a Queens family favorite. Situated next to Kaufman Astoria Studios, the site of dozens of notable film productions over the years. Exhibits change regularly, and currently they have a huge area dedicated to the life and work of Jim Henson, plus an entire floor on the production of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
But if all you aspire to do is eat Thai food and let your kids run around a bit, Moore Homestead Playground was recently renovated, and is two blocks from Dek Sen and Chao Thai. It’s a good place for children to blow off some steam.
Food Spots
1. Dek Sen
Dek Sen is a BYOB cash only spot with no website. Their Pink Milk and Thai Iced Tea are kid favorites, but watch out - it goes straight to their heads.
Zabb Wings are a good place to start. They’re exceptionally crispy thanks to a coating of course ground sticky rice, which Thais use the way Americans might use cornmeal. Beware, they’re spicier than they look.
Nam Tok Moo (pork) and Nom Tok Neua (beef) are both blood broth soups, and they’re our two favorite noodle dishes on the menu. We tell our kids the blood broth is simply soy sauce and they lap it up.
We’re addicted to Dek Sen’s Pork Chili Basil. The pork is crispy AF, and the signature sauce has pleasant heat. The server will divide it into 2 equal portions - a mild and a signature spice level. The mild is wildly popular with our kids.
2. Chao Thai
Chao Thai has been regarded as a top NYC restaurant for over 14 years, but still has no website. It’s cash only, BYOB, and super causal.
Each region in the far east has a version of braised pig leg, with subtle differences in the type of vinegars used, the amount of chili, and the use of sugar. Thai Slow Cooked Pig Leg tends to be on the sweeter side, and the way our kids typically inhale it makes ordering additional food for them unnecessary.
We don’t usually recommend people travel for Pad Thai, but Chao Thai’s version is excellent, and it’s a great option for anyone looking to avoid heat. It’s a far cry from the more brown, sugary versions found elsewhere in NYC.
We can’t make a trip to Elmhurst without ordering at least one dish containing Crispy Pork. Our go-to is Pad Ped, a spicy red curry stir fry. Chao Thai also has extensive soup and salad selections, but we don’t typically make it that far.
3. Pata Market
Pata Market is one of several small Thai grocers in the neighborhood, and it’s our favorite for prepared food to go. They have a nice selection of salads, stir fries, and desserts, along with tons of imported Thai products.
They have a variety of Thai sausage, as well as all the spices and condiments you could ask for. Very occasionally they have bins of free souvenirs for kids at the door. For this reason alone our kids named it “the best market in Elmhurst”.
4. Thai Thai Grocery
Thai Thai Grocery looks more like a budget consignment shop than a market from the outside, but don’t be fooled, they sell all the curry paste, spices, Isan sausage, fish balls, and Thai snacks you could want. They also have crickets and grasshoppers if that’s your thing.
You’ll also find Hale’s Blue Boy, a famous Thai syrup manufacturer and the secret ingredient in Thai Pink Milk. Just mix the red flavor with milk and that’s the secret.
Transportation
The R train stops directly at Elmhurst. Otherwise 7, E, and F trains stop at Roosevelt Ave-Jackson Heights, which is about a 15 minute walk down Broadway to the food spots.
One and two hour metered parking is available in Elmhurst, and it’s a quick drive or Uber/Lyft from any of the earlier mentioned Queens destinations.