Sunday, November 13, 2011


Royal Oak, MI - Penn's Thai Kitchen; When you ask for heat, they bring the heat on! They don't joke about spicy here, if you ask for it, you're going to get it. That's what I like about it.

Penn's is a cute little Thai place that has switched hands a few times, but hopefully it will stick with her now.

I tried two dishes, the red curry with tofu and the papaya salad. The red curry was rich with flavor, coconut-iness, and full with curry flavor, nothing watered down. I ordered it medium, what I remember from this dish, is the wonderful flavor of the curry, but the heat, man, the heat.  I may have had a few beads of sweat on my forehead.

The papaya salad was also good, but I had slightly higher expectations. It didn't have as much flavor as I was expecting, but it's also wonderful to have a salad once in a while with a kick.  You get to order this salad also with the spicy level you wish. I chose medium of course and here is this nice slightly acidic refreshing salad, that has a kick, some heat, and you're sweating again!  It's a neat contrast if you're not use to it.

They are super nice inside and I would gladly go back to try more and more.



Royal Oak, MI - What Crepe: Are you a savory or sweet crepe person? Are you both? It's easy to be both at What Crepe? They have several delicious ones and probably many more that I haven't even begun to try, but I want to!

I started with the spicy chicken crepe, which was extremely good. It was very savory, chicken extremely tender, but the "spicy" part needed more heat.  I can understand that they try to pick a middle ground so it fits for many, but when I hear spicy, it should have some heat to back it up. The crepe gives the savory some sweet balance necessary to make it a harmonious dish. I recommend trying this one if you have the opportunity.

After my friend and i stuffed ourselves with a huge crepe each, my friend was compelled to try another. We split it, but I felt overly stuffed at that point. We tried the wild mushroom crepe.  It's an excellent vegetarian option if you like mushrooms.  It does have a strong earthy mushroom flavor, since it's the predominant ingredient.  Not sure if I was stuffed or just too much of a singular flavor on this one, I was happy with just the half.

Lastly, had to try the caramelized banana and nutela crepe. This of course should be a staple when you go. The sweetness from the crepe, and nutela match the banana perfectly.  The chocolate drizzle on top gives it that extra sweetness needed in any dessert.

Only downside is a long wait, but when you have to wait, you know it's going to be good.