New Restaurant Alert: 9-D
Brooklyn loves its Thai restaurants. But those of us below the Carroll Gardens stop have always had to walk to the upper reaches of Smith or Court streets to get our Thai on. Until now. This weekend, Nine-D opened in the old Josie's Java storefront. The tasteful space isn't just a takeout joint. The interior is covered in dark wood and lit by atmospheric fixtures. Arty Thai decorations hang on the walls and the pillows strewn across the bench seating adds splashes of color.
We only tried two dishes this weekend, but the results were promising. The duck yum, sliced roast duck with red onion, scallion, basil and peanuts in a tangy vinegar based sauce, was one of the best duck dishes we've had in the neighborhood. I was, however, a bit disappointed by the lack of vegetables in most of the dishes. I had to pay extra to get any veggies beyond peanuts, basil and lime leaves in my panang curry. You also have to pay for rice ($1 for steamed, $1.75 for sticky and $1.50 for brown). I'm of the opinion that everyone eats rice at a Thai restaurant, so it should just be included in the price. As well, the kitchen's timing was all over the place. While our dishes came out at the same time, the table next to us wasn't so lucky. I'm guessing this will be corrected with practice, and judging by the packed dining room this weekend, the staff is getting plenty of it. The waitstaff was also offering Singha beer on the house Sunday night, which always helps to smooth over the wrinkles.
Nine-D. 462 Court Street. (718) 488-9799. Lunch and dinner daily. Take-out.
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Charging for rice is like charging for tap water.
weird place. the menu promises more of the americanized thai food that seems to prevail in this section of brooklyn. to me it's highly unusual not to have whole fish in chili sauce on a thai menu, but this place skips that and has a salmon in mango sauce instead. i'm a little sick of the super-sweet peanutty sauces that seem so popular at the tuk tuks of the world. but i welcome anything new in this part of the world, so if it's cheap it'll be a new option when i'm bored and don't want to cook.
So we went into this place on day two (it opened saturday) around noon to try it out. the first minute or two we just stood there looking for someone. finally a couple little kids come walking in from outside and tell us: "we're not opening until 4pm today -- we ran out of supplies." not such a good start to opening weekend!
got any clues about the name? usually a place called nine-d would be on 9th. or D. can't figure this one.
Yeah, we couldn't figure out 9-D either. We heard the table next to us talking about it, too. I meant to ask, but forgot. I thought the penang was a bit sweet for the dish. It tasted like there was peanut sauce in the curry.
Their menu mentioned it was only temporary. I think this place has some potential once they've worked out the wrinkles.
i went tonight, saturday 30th, and had a great meal. especially liked the lemon fish, nice and sour, with nice but subtle heat. also the bbq pork skewer starter. the tod-mun-goong was very good too, i've always just had tod-mun before elsewhere (which i love)! the nine in the name refers to a lucky number in thail culture. my friend from bangkok thought all the flavors were very thai tasting. btw, the sticky rice w/ mango is great - nice and salty.
Went there last night and was pleasantly surprised. The best part is it's a NICE place - great decor, lovely presentation of the food. Lots of thai places are cheap, which has its own appeal, but you don't particularly want to eat there.
We had tom kha gai (good), gang-keow-wan with chicken and thai eggplant (excellent, not sweet and slightly spicy) and the mango fish (fantastic, not sweet but tangy and quite a substantial piece of salmon).
cost for soup, entrees, beers & rice was $52 + tip for two people, which is more than we usually spend on a thai dinner, but it was more upscale and pleasant than dinner at tuk tuk or three bow thais.