I love Sripraphai.  They treat me like family there, which is to say that the best waitress pokes fun at my limited Thai vocab and berates me for not visiting more often.  Eleven of my friends came out to help me celebrate on Saturday.  All the elements seemed to be conspiring against us: the cold October rain came in spurts, the 7 and G trains were not running properly, and it was completely packed when we got there.  They don't take reservations there, and I think Jim was right -- all the Thai people and old folks thought they'd beat the crowds by getting there at 6:00 for dinner, thus beating my 6:15 group out for the long tables.

I suppose this is not going to be a real review, because being critical of Sripraphai is no longer an option for me.  When I eat there, not only do I get to eat delicious, authentic Thai dishes that I can't get anywhere else in town, but I also get to feel like a part of the New York Thai community.  I recognize faces there, and I get to practice the first language I ever learned.  I feel at home.

That said, I thought you might be interested in what we had to eat.  It was my birthday dinner, and the deal was, people were invited to come eat, but I got to do all the ordering.  Special dietary needs were not accomodated.  Suggestions and requests were politely ignored.  Everyone got to choose their libation of choice, but were subject to my menu whims.  Here's what I ordered:

    * Som tam with preserved blue crab, no sugar
    * Pickled spareribs
    * Raw shrimp with garlic chili sauce
    * Fish cakes with cucumber salad
    * Soft shell crab with green mango salad
    * Chinese watercress with bean sauce and chili
    * Kao soy, curry with egg noodles and beef
    * Chicken massaman curry
    * Rice noodle with fish curry
    * White rice and sticky rice

For dessert, we had my favorite cupcakes from Baked in Red Hook.  And after that, a couple of us went to Muse Karaoke to make fools of ourselves in a tiny private room.  Muse is the best private room karaoke place in town, as far as I know -- they have the most insanely up-to-date song list, huge plasma TVs, clean facilities, and machines that don't require  international diplomacy skills to work.  Serendipity was on our side -- they were celebrating some kind of anniversary, and name brand beers and cocktails were only $1-$2 each.  We were told we could have the room for an hour, and when the party who had reserved the room cancelled, we stayed for three more hours.  I got messy and I whooped it up til my voice went hoarse, but I had a fabulous time.  Thank god I was with friends, because my Stoli-ravaged vocal chords were wasted by the middle of the night.  You'd never know from my caterwauling banshee rendition of Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" that people sometimes pay me to sing.

I should say that I brought the camera along so I could take pictures of our meal.  But I hate pausing the feast for photos.  The camera only came out after we knocked a few drinks back at the karaoke joint.  I'd like to think that mild embarrassment = a successful birthday festivity.  Click the picture below for photographic evidence of me working the disco pointer, the windshield wipers, and the drunken perma-wink.

Sripraphai
64-13 39th Ave.
between 64th and 65th Sts.
718-899-9599
7 to 61st St. - Woodside, or E, F, G, R, V to Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Ave.

Muse Karaoke
154 W 26th St
between 6th and 7th Aves.
(212) 647-0909
1, 9 to 23rd St., R, W to 28th St., or F, V to 23rd St.