Dallas restaurants need to keep putting noodles in wraps. I grew up eating thin glass noodles in my mom’s fried egg rolls and vermicelli noodles stuffed inside Vietnamese spring rolls. I have friends who call me Noodley. (Seriously.)
Fresh ThaiQueria, a Thai-Mexican fusion restaurant, has some massive burritos with Thai noodle dishes on its menu alongside other fusion and Thai dishes. But I went for the pad Thai and khao soi wraps.
The restaurant opened in December in a tiny strip mall on Kelly Boulevard. Siblings Sirawit “Sam” Thanomsap and Anyamanee Thanomsap joined with their cousin Pete Chertchusak to open Fresh ThaiQueria in honor of their grandfather. He had a noodle shop in Kanchanburi, Thailand, called Po’ Thin.
The Grandpa Beef Soup is a homage to him. The dish is similar to Taiwanese beef noodle soup, with broth simmered for five hours. Diners are given a choice of rice noodles, yellow egg noodles, or rice. When we visited, though, Pete told us one of the most authentic dishes is the khao soy, which is made with a creamy northern Thai curry broth and thick yellow egg noodles.
I’ll come back for that; today’s lunch was about noodles in a burrito. There are two options on the menu: the Pad-ThaiRito and the Khao-SoiRito. I tried the former. An order comes with a choice of chicken, tofu, or beef birria; pad Thai noodles; a bit of scrambled egg; then some slaw, onions, and bean sprouts. It all gets wrapped in a flour tortilla. It is delivered to tabletops cut in half and topped with a sprinkling of freshly cut green onions.
I needed both hands to eat one half. The burrito was packed with noodles, but each bite delivered a bit of everything. Pad Thai noodles run the risk of being dry, but these were saucy and had just the right amount of sweetness. Accompanying the burrito was a tiny ramekin filled with a spicy mayo-based chile sauce, which added a nice kick. A spoonful of the restaurant’s chile oil, plus the sauce, delivered the dish’s requisite heat.
If you’ve had a noodle fusion wrap before, such as Cris and John’s Phorrito, you’ll see the appeal in something like the Pad-ThaiRito. Handheld noodles are the way to go.
But going further down the menu’s fusion options, the curry tacos plate gives the Pad-ThaiRito a run for its money. Three tacos are filled with melted mozzarella cheese and a choice of protein. The tacos were pretty standard on their own, but the red curry dipping sauce stood out. Sam says the curry sauce is the same one they use for their red curry rice bowl. It’s thick and rich with coconut and chile flavors.
The owners say they are planning to expand the menu with more fusion dishes, and that should excite all of us. Just that little sampling of curry has me itching for more. More tacos, more curry, and definitely more noodle-stuffed burritos.
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