Cheap Eats 2011: Dang's Thai Kitchen

Man, you gotta feel bad for Portland’s Thai restaurants. I mean, with what seems like two for every Rose City resident, they must be competing in an absolutely cutthroat market. But, just like Adam Smith said it would, that brutal competition has benefited us consumers with some really good noodle-and-curry spots. Dang’s, though lacking a “Thai” pun in its name, is one of them. This slightly, but not stuffily, upscale place in Lake O does right by Thai classics: its pad see ew ($10) could be a tad saucier, but the green curry ($10) is perfect. Take the road less traveled with the kao soi ($10), a generous lake of spicy curry, veggies and egg noodles with an island of crispy noodles floating atop it.