TASTE THE BREADTH OF THAI FOOD IN L.A.

CONSIDER THIS A BLUEPRINT TO DISCOVER ONE OF THE CITY'S ESSENTIAL CUISINES

- BY BILL ADDISON

THAI IS A PILLAR CUISINE of Los Angeles. The largest Thai population outside of Thailand calls Los Angeles home.

The community designation in East Hollywood is the only officially recognized Thai Town in the United States. As with Koreatown and Historic Filipinotown, the neighborhood took root when our country, via the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, welcomed waves of migration from across Asia. As with all of the world’s great culinary traditions, “Thai cuisine” really means micro-regional cooking styles. In L.A., we can taste the breadths. We can seek out the mulchy, herbaceous pleasures of sai ua from Thailand’s northernmost extremes, bordering Laos, noting how the textures of the sausage vary by the hands who make them. Rice is crisped in salads, pounded into noodles, powdered into a seasoning, stir-fried in infinite variations or served plain, sticky or not, as a catchall for prismatic flavors.

Curries, silken with coconut milk, will change with the color of the chiles in their pastes. Appearances deceive. I did not believe how profoundly capsicums can set a body aflame until I plowed through several bites of kua kling phat tha lung, the hottest dish at Jitlada, during my initiation lunch in 2008. I am long past that milestone, but I'd do it over again that one time.

No matter the headline, I'm wary of the word "best." These are 15 favorites, often emphasizing the specificity of a Thai chef’s home region. Use it as a blueprint. Wander the outdoor food court of the Wat Thai temple in Sun Valley on an early Sunday afternoon. Find a friend and walk the blocks of Thai Town, scanning menus to see what appeals. There will soon be another restaurant vying for boat noodle supremacy. Maybe someone will soon show up making chor muang, the ornate royal flower dumplings, that I've had a hard time finding. Being a pillar cuisine is knowing that room for possibility always remains.

ANAJAK THAI