Going tonight, will report back. Thanks G wiv.

botd wrote:Going tonight, will report back. Thanks G wiv.

Nice, heading over for lunch tomorrow looking forward to feedback from LTH's toughest critic.

In-On Thai, after almost a year and a half absence its wonderful to have them back. Love the new space, love the family, love the food. Congratulations!
In-On Thai, count me a fan!







In-On Thai
4-9 Weekdays.
11-10 Saturday & Sunday
4641 N Broadway, Chicago
Closed Wednesday.

G Wiv wrote:In-On Thai, after almost a year and a half absence its wonderful to have them back.

It feels like a 3 and half year absence. Did they ever get up and running in 2018? Nobody posted about a visit, seemed over before it started. Only trying to clarify because it feels so long overdue. Glad they're back. Looks BYOB based on the wine bottle.

bweiny wrote:It feels like a 3 and half year absence. Did they ever get up and running in 2018? Nobody posted about a visit, seemed over before it started. Only trying to clarify because it feels so long overdue. Glad they're back. Looks BYOB based on the wine bottle.

Oh sh*t, just realized I read the date wrong. I'll not change my post but yes, you are correct, it was longer than a year and a half.
Last day, according to this thread was 6.21.16 and In-On Thai reopened 11.16.19
Yes, BYOB.

We missed G Wiv, presumably because we arrived immediately after work. We ordered a few of our favorites from the past.

Green Bean Salad - Delicious, but not quite as good as I remember, but I will chalk that down to nostaliga. Also my memory (and I think the menu) recalls coconut milk, but this was straight sour/sweet fish sauce dressing.

Spicy Coconut Milk Crispy Fish Soup - I think this is the same dish of which G Wiv posted a picture, but I don't recall tomato in ours. This was a favorite on the winter special menu back in the day and is as good as I remember. It's basically a Tom Yum tempered with a bit of coconut milk to reduce sourness and spiciness.

Kaeng Na Tofu Curry - We didn't see the chicken and bamboo red curry I adored so much in the past, but this sounded similar. Unfortunately, this was extremely spicy (too much for the wife) and getting past that, kind of one-note. They graciously offered to make it again with less spice, but we declined.

We liked the new digs better than the old place and commented to the family as such (along with inquiring about the length of the transition to a new location), though I hear the area is supposed to be somewhat sketchy for the north side?

I can't wait to return as there are still more old favorites to enjoy again and a menu full of interesting sounding dishes to try. In-On Thai always had a number of eclectic items not served elsewhere and I am glad they have preserved that.

botd wrote:Spicy Coconut Milk Crispy Fish Soup - I think this is the same dish of which G Wiv posted a picture, but I don't recall tomato in ours. This was a favorite on the winter special menu back in the day and is as good as I remember. It's basically a Tom Yum tempered with a bit of coconut milk to reduce sourness and spiciness.

Soup with coconut milk is, as G Wiv noted in his caption, typically referred to as Tom Kha (referencing the customary inclusion of galanga root) rather than Tom Yum, which typically has a clear broth.

nsxtasy wrote:

botd wrote:Spicy Coconut Milk Crispy Fish Soup - I think this is the same dish of which G Wiv posted a picture, but I don't recall tomato in ours. This was a favorite on the winter special menu back in the day and is as good as I remember. It's basically a Tom Yum tempered with a bit of coconut milk to reduce sourness and spiciness.

Soup with coconut milk is, as G Wiv noted in his caption, typically referred to as Tom Kha (referencing the customary inclusion of galanga root) rather than Tom Yum, which typically has a clear broth.

I agree, but the menu item we ordered is literally translated as Tom Yum Kha ... Pla and as I said I was confused by the inclusion of tomato which was absent in our dish. Considering the depth of the menu I was merely hedging my bets that he ordered a similar but slightly different dish.

botd wrote:We liked the new digs better than the old place and commented to the family as such (along with inquiring about the length of the transition to a new location), though I hear the area is supposed to be somewhat sketchy for the north side?

I love the new space with one small reservation, the tables are a bit small. 4-people, 4-seats, 8-dishes, water, soda, wine, rice, going to be some serious juggling going on.

Far as the neighborhood, sketchy, maybe more than Lincoln Park, but you aren't going to get in a bro-beer bar fight at In-On Thai and its safer than your average suburban Popeye's. Just don't walk out of the restaurant flashing a gold watch and two-inch thick sheaf of hundreds.

G Wiv wrote:Far as the neighborhood, sketchy,

Was very happy to eat the food again, which was as delicious as remembered but the above was more than obvious... @ 2 30 pm on Sunday a vertible supermkt of biz was just outside the window. The Alderman has been notified so hopefully it's temporary.

I made it to In-on Thai last Sunday for dinner. I don't remeber exactly what we had, but it included Sunshine beef, In-on Thai spicy fish, Green curry fried rice with shrimp, panang curry with chicken, Shrimp with clear noodles in hot pot, som tum Thai, green bean salad and a few other things that I can't remember. Everything I ate was excellent. Their curries are as good as any in town and they have a remarkable ability to cook shrimp.

The one small problem that we had was my fault. I didn't remember much about any of the dishes and my brother in law does not eat spicy food. Every dish we had with the exception of the shrimp in clear noodles was really fiery. I should have added a Pad thai or similar, but I got a little carried away with all of the amazing curry options.

I'm returning tomorrow with a group of six and will remember more details. So glad to have this place back, but I'm a little conflicted about eating here again so soon as I need to get back to Rainbow Thai.

deesher wrote:Every dish we had with the exception of the shrimp in clear noodles was really fiery.

Just to clarify - Did you specify a level of heat when ordering, or did you leave it up to them?

I left it up to them. I put a habanero or ghost pepper in my breakfast cereal, so I was perfectly happy.

deesher wrote:I left it up to them. I put a habanero or ghost pepper in my breakfast cereal, so I was perfectly happy.

Considering how ghost peppers are infiltrating all kinds of items, particularly at Trader Joe's, I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up in a cereal soon. Sadly, most of these items are legitimately not very spicy, so I wonder why you would source a ghost pepper for them?

botd wrote:Considering how ghost peppers are infiltrating all kinds of items, particularly at Trader Joe's, I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up in a cereal soon.

I ate here with my family Tuesday evening to celebrate my sister's birthday and promised my dad that I would post about our meal. We agreed to let him order as well and hit many things that have been mentioned on the board already: marinated pork ribs, In-On spicy fish, green bean salad, green curry fried rice with shrimp, shrimp with clear noodles, panang curry, crispy fish with jungle salad (lime, shallot, green apple & peanuts), a beef stir fry dish, and one more thing (sorry we got full and I didn't take notes, maybe someone can help me here). Highlights for me were: wrapping pickled cabbage around a boneless rib nub, the cold creamy egg on the green bean salad, and crispy jungle fish dish in general (which I have to add was my only contribution to the order for the table). The kitchen also sent out a very cornstarchy shrimp omelet dish served with sriracha as a birthday gift which ended up being one of my favorite dishes of the evening. It was described as "Chinese food" and the loose version of a Thai mussel omelet, if that helps your imagination. Very pleasurable snotlike omelet encasing delicately cooked shrimp which act as kind of the snappy composed version of the cornstarch & egg slurry. The sriracha is the Thai variety, which is to say looser, more acidic, and my preference. It really makes the dish.

All the food was spicy as mentioned and we definitely leaned very heavily on the fish/shrimp options. Both of these things are strengths for me as I feel that it gives In-On a distinct voice as one of the best restaurants to go for a variety of curry dishes in the city.

The food is great and the service is openhearted, attentive & kind; I am so happy that they are back in business. I already sent some other friends there and am looking forward to hearing about their order.

em24666 wrote:I ate here with my family Tuesday evening to celebrate my sister's birthday and promised my dad that I would post about our meal. We agreed to let him order as well and hit many things that have been mentioned on the board already: marinated pork ribs, In-On spicy fish, green bean salad, green curry fried rice with shrimp, shrimp with clear noodles, panang curry, crispy fish with jungle salad (lime, shallot, green apple & peanuts), a beef stir fry dish, and one more thing (sorry we got full and I didn't take notes, maybe someone can help me here). Highlights for me were: wrapping pickled cabbage around a boneless rib nub, the cold creamy egg on the green bean salad, and crispy jungle fish dish in general (which I have to add was my only contribution to the order for the table). The kitchen also sent out a very cornstarchy shrimp omelet dish served with sriracha as a birthday gift which ended up being one of my favorite dishes of the evening. It was described as "Chinese food" and the loose version of a Thai mussel omelet, if that helps your imagination. Very pleasurable snotlike omelet encasing delicately cooked shrimp which act as kind of the snappy composed version of the cornstarch & egg slurry. The sriracha is the Thai variety, which is to say looser, more acidic, and my preference. It really makes the dish.

All the food was spicy as mentioned and we definitely leaned very heavily on the fish/shrimp options. Both of these things are strengths for me as I feel that it gives In-On a distinct voice as one of the best restaurants to go for a variety of curry dishes in the city.

The food is great and the service is openhearted, attentive & kind; I am so happy that they are back in business. I already sent some other friends there and am looking forward to hearing about their order.

Ugh, what is taking me so long to get back to In-on!? Your post has me freaking out over here!

Welcome to the other side em24666!

em24666 wrote:Very pleasurable snotlike

I can't say I ever expected to see these 3 words put together. I doubt I'll ever see it again.

Thanks for the write up.

bweiny wrote:

em24666 wrote:Very pleasurable snotlike

I can't say I ever expected to see these 3 words put together. I doubt I'll ever see it again.

Fuchsia Dunlop addresses this directly in her wonderful book "Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China" The perceptional disconnect between textural deliciousness of Asian and Western eaters.

There is also reference online by FD in an article on Medium.com
https://medium.com/conversations-with-t ... 3922e8a784

Try to feel it. Try to feel that slightly slithery, gelatinous quality, that little crispness in the bite. It’s like what I like to think of is edible oxymoron, this softness and crispness. Chinese love these sensory contradictions.

This is an aspect I find particularly interesting. Plus, I adore Fuchsia Dunlop.

If one transposes a number the business called is not likely to answer for a reservation.
This has been a Public Service Announcement.

In-On Thai
4-9 Weekdays.
11-10 Saturday & Sunday
4641 N Broadway, Chicago
Closed Wednesday.
773-944-0114

Third time at the rebirth of In-On Thai Uptown. Strong out the gate, picking up steam as they get in the groove. Lovely to dine with niece Ashton, Ryan and their charming baby, the bride was all smiles. Folks, friends, LTHers plan a visit to In-On Thai soon. #countmeafan

Glad to see everyone enjoying Don's new place.

Hope to get back up to Chicago soon to try it out, so appreciate everyone's posts. Food is looking great.

Cheers.

Made it back to Chicago and had a group dinner here this week.
SOOOOO glad they are back!

Table of 7, and we ordered many of the dishes recently pictured above. Sunshine beef was a table favorite, served with Thai-style Sriracha sauce. (Not the kind out of the plastic bottle). But there wasn't a bad dish in the bunch.

And beyond the food, has to be the sweetest family running a restaurant in the city.

And for those with dietary restrictions, Don is very good with all of them. Even cooked up a small, individual portion of a group dish without gluten, so no one was left out. Class!

Highly recommend visits here. I will be coming back next month, mostly to dine here with the group again.

Adding to the deserved chorus of praise. So happy that my top Thai restaurant in Chicago has returned. Went tonight and have confirmed plans to be back in less than three weeks.

The highlight of the meal, pictured by G Wiv above, is the crispy fish with jungle salad, which is just an explosion of flavors and textures. This new addition to the menu is traditionally served with green mango, but they use apples since it's out of season. I think the sweetness from the apple is actually a really nice touch, though I'd be more than happy to try the mango version. Can't imagine not ordering this one on all future visits.


The Tom Kha Tofu (spicy coconut milk broth with tofu, herbs, mushrooms, Thai chili and mushrooms) was another favorite at our table.


We threw in the Crispy Tofu with Sweet Chili Sauce just to try something different and were very happy with the choice. This isn't a go-out-of-your-way quality dish, but the very crispy tofu was a really good vessel for an excellent sweet sauce that balances well with the heat that the other courses bring to the table.

The housemade curries remain superb. We had the green curry and the Penang curry and both were every bit as good as ever. I can also recommend the bamboo chicken, which brought a nice dose of funk to go with the heat in the curry.

There was only one other table occupied tonight after 7:30, but hopefully that's due to the weather and people staying in the night before New Year's Eve and not an indication of a problem. This place is a gem and I hope it sticks around as long as the wonderful hosts want to keep it going.

Someone shared a bottle of very good wine with us and all I can remember is that it was a 2010 bottle and that, to my wine-ignorant palate, tasted like apples and honey. I'm hoping that nice someone is an LTHer who can fill me in on the details of the bottle.

The wine that you had was a 2010 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermännchen Riesling Kabinett. If you thought it tasted like apples and honey, then it definitely tasted like apples and honey. Here's a link to a few tasting notes posted on Cellartracker, none of which are particularly recent:

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp ... ource=list

I generally suggest drinking wines with some residual sugar with spicy food. Other wines can work very well too, but kabinett or spatlese German riesling is kind of a no brainer. I find geuze and lambics can also stand up to most anything. A bottle of champagne at the start of the meal never hurts either.

Loved the fish with jungle salad last night and the chicken with bamboo shoots in red curry was on fire. Can't believe that there isn't a line out the door.

deesher wrote:The wine that you had was a 2010 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermännchen Riesling Kabinett

Thanks for sharing!

delivery last night was firing on all cylinders, as a side note crispy fish w/jungle salad came with fish and dressing/salad packaged separately which is always a nice touch.

I've been out of town and first Chicago restaurant meal for the new year In On Thai, and what a meal it was. Bold, balanced, incredible hospitality, diverse, delicious, delightful, pretty much any D descriptor one might add. Four of us ate for six in a not-very-busy Sunday early evening restaurant and, as Deesher says in a recent post, "Can't believe that there isn't a line out the door"

Crispy Chicken Nam Tok, perfectly fried tender chicken, lime, herbs, shallots, mint, ground toasted rice powder, sour, sweet, lightly spicy. (new dish, not on menu yet)
38 Jungle salad, crispy fish, toasted rice powder, lemongrass, punchy with herbs and lime. This dish has been praised numerous times up-thread, deservedly so.
Curry Puffs, white board special. Flakey, light curry flavor, a two-bite wonder that was memory all too soon.
Shrimp with glass noodle
17 Marinated Pork Ribs, lightly fermented, bit of chew, tons of flavor
21 Fried Wings, crispy, juicy, highly enjoyable.
41 Green curry with ground chicken and Thai eggplant. House made curry, slight bitter plus texture from Thai eggplant, a lovely dish.
48 BBQ pork fried rice for our non-adventurous friend. He raved, I took a taste, could have eaten the whole plate.
Mung/red bean "soup" dessert. Lightly sweet, refreshing, beany, nice cap to a wonderful meal.

My fourth time at the new iteration of In On Thai, our friends first ever. She has a wide ranging experienced palate and was already planning a return visit. Her mate compared the fried rice to his favorite in Pennsylvania, high praise from one who eats to live as opposed to lives to eat.

Run don't walk to this gem. Support the mom & pop family owned restaurant or one day we will wake up and, like the Oscar winning 1993 classic Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone, every restaurant will be a Taco Bell.

In On Thai, count me a Fan!

Should the thread title be updated to note that it is now in Uptown?

lodasi wrote:Should the thread title be updated to note that it is now in Uptown?

Also Google Maps should be updated, as it will stubbornly direct you to the old location.

Nothing new to add to all the raves, but a recent visit found a completely empty restaurant (eventually, one other table was occupied). I don’t know how good this location is but hope they can make it.