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.
The window ordering system and small outdoor dining parklet make it feel like a roadside Thai food stand planted in the middle of Manhattan.
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.