From the same owners as smash-hits Thai Diner and Uncle Boons comes Mommy Pai’s, a Thai chicken joint born in arguably the best era for chicken joints: People cannot stop eating chicken fingers. This is not your average fast-food chicken tender spot, nor does it want to be. Here, New Yorkers can experience the viscerally sweet, sour, acidic, and chile-spiked flavors that make Thai cuisine so compelling. Find chicken fingers that are halal and gluten- and dairy-free, punched up with lemongrass, garlic, soy, white pepper, and coconut; its nine sauces include Thai hot honey with orange and makrut lime, and the Phuket Island with galangal and green peppercorn. What makes Mommy Pai’s so good is its specificity — the slate of tropical frozen drinks only sweetens the deal.
What to order
- Grilled or fried chicken fingers, although, if you’re being honest, you’re here for something fried. A combination plate includes three in the seasoning of your choice with pickles, a hibiscus-dyed quail egg, one sauce, and a tropical drink for $16. The best is the citrusy lemongrass, although coconut is a close second.
- The crispy tofu sandwich is a vegetarian stunner: piled with pickled mustard greens and slathered with nam prik num, an ultra-savory green chile condiment.
- Make it a side party: the hat yai vegetable plate comes with cauliflower, mushroom, snake beans, purple sweet potato, and baby bok choy, as well as spicy bamboo slaw. Add coconut-scallion “mommy cakes” and french fries just because.
The vibes
The window ordering system and small outdoor dining parklet make it feel like a roadside Thai food stand planted in the middle of Manhattan.
Insider tip
You’ve not really done Mommy Pai until you’ve tried all the seasonings and sauces — it might take more than one visit, or one if you bring enough people.
