Where to find yummy noodles in Flagstaff

Karma's Ramen

Noodles are a beloved staple in diets across the world. They come in many textures, made of a variety of bases depending on where you are. World-FoodHistory.com says the first noodles in history can be traced back to the Middle East in 5000 BC. That was a wheat noodle. Fast forward to the year 300 when the Chinese form their first version of noodles. Chinese noodles spread to Japan a few hundred years later. Then, as the story goes, Marco Polo brought back noodles to Italy in the late 13th century after a trip to China. And the love of these little strings of filling-goodness continued to spread across the globe becoming the food we now love with the multicultural background and wide variety of tastes. Here in Flagstaff, we have delish noodles in styles form across the globe. Here’s a sampling…

Pasto Cucina Italiano
19 E Aspen
Pasto makes their own pastas fresh in house. In many cases they use heirloom grains, then grind it in house to make the flour that they then turn into their homemade pastas!
Pasto has several types to try like spaghettini, which means “little strings” of pasta; pennette, meaning “little quills”; tagliatelle, which is spinach ribbons. These are served with a variety of their housemade sauces and other fine ingredients. Everything I’ve tried here I’ve enjoyed, so I don’t think you can go wrong with your noodle pick!

Pato Thai Cuisine
104 N San Francisco
Representing the plethora of top-notch Thai noodles in town are the dishes of Pato. They have the delicious classic Pad Thai, of course, which is served with a spicy sauce, ground peanuts, meat, bean sprouts and egg. They also have Pad-see-Eew, Kai Kua (a pan fried flat rice noodle with egg, bean sprout and peanut served on lettuce), Chow Mein (a stir fired egg noodle), Suki Yaki (a glass noodle soup with chicken, squid, shrimp), Rad Nar (a rice noodle with broccoli and carrots in a gravy sauce), Pad Woon Sen (a stir fried silver noodle) and Spicy Noodle (a flat noodle with pepper, onion, celery, basil, tomato and chili paste).

Karma
6 E Route 66
Karma takes on the traditional Japanese ramen dish... that’s nothing like those little packets of noodles with flavor packets you can buy for a quarter. Ramen traditionally features Chinese style wheat noodles served in a soy or miso flavored broth with pork or fish. Karma serves it up with pork or chicken plus a boiled egg. This is a delightfully different and filling dish, served in a nice sized bowl.

Taverna Greek Grille
2420 S Woodlands Village
If you want to go Greek with your noodles, Taverna has several options for “zymarika” (the Greek word for pastas). Try the Seafood Pasta Salad, made like many traditional Greek pasta recipes with shrimp and fish. This one has penne tossed in Greek dressing then mixed with grilled salmon, shrimp, kalamata olives, red peppers, red onions, tomatoes, pepperoncini and feta cheese.

Golden Dragon
2730 E Lakin Dr (off Steves Blvd)
Golden Dragon has several types of noodle dishes. They include several varieties of the classics… Lo Mein (which translates to “tossed noodles,” meaning string-like egg noodles tossed in a light sauce with meats and/or veggies) and Chow Fun (with wide rice noodles, meat and sauce) noodle plus Pan Fried Noodles (thin angel hair-like wheat-based noodles that are fried a bit crunchy and served with meat and sauce), Singapore Rice Noodles (which have a curry sauce) and Taiwanese Rice Noodles.

A look at all of Flagstaff's Thai restaurants

There’s something exotic about the foods you find at Thai restaurants. You almost feel special as you savor each of the flavors hitting your taste buds, like someone has just invented and hand crafted this delicacy just for you to enjoy. That's the beauty of Thai food and its combinations of edible aromas from curries with tumeric and coconut to sweet and spicy noodle dishes and still others flavored by limes, lemon grass, peanuts, hot chilis or mint. We're lucky here in Flagstaff, of all places, to have so many top quality Thai restaurants to enjoy. Take a tour around town of these fine eateries....

Swaddee Thai
115 E. Aspen Ave.
773-1122
swaddeethai.com
Swaddee is at the top of my list for Thai, especially their interpretation of the classic pad Thai with chicken. The number three heat level is perfection bringing together sweet, tangy and spicy in each bite. If you’re new to Thai food, the pad Thai is a great starting dish, it’s Thailand’s national noodle dish afterall, and Swaddee is the place to try a superlative example of it.  Pad Thai has wide noodles with a meat, bean sprouts and egg tossed in a sweet and sour sauce topped with ground peanuts. Other entrees to try: Pad Won Sen with its transparent noodles stir fried with your choice of meat, egg and veggies and Thai Barbecued Chicken prepared with Thai spices, coconut milk and a hot and sour sauce. The atmosphere here is relaxed and inviting as you sit back in the big booths awaiting your pleasure. The lunch specials are an added bonus. For about $8 you get a small salad, mini egg roll, steamed rice (except noodle dishes) and your choice of a chicken, beef, pork, or tofu entrée. Those include red, green, or yellow curry, pad Thai and others. Full menu details are on their website.

Little Thai Kitchen
1051 S Milton
226-9422
For twelve years, Little Thai Kitchen has been serving up delightfully aromatic dishes with friendly service tucked in a teeny tiny yet quaint feeling spot big enough to serve about 20 people elbow to elbow. The dishes here are on the smaller side and the meat portions aren’t always plentiful. But the food is all carefully prepared and enjoyable. Dishes have some of the coolest names in town like The Evil Princess of a Wild Jungle, which by the way is a highly recommended entrée of chicken, mushrooms, herbs and spices bathed in a creamy coconut sauce. Others of note: Cashew Gai, Gang Kiew Wan, Southern Fried Rice, Ginger Fish and Tiger Rolls. Entrees come with a small salad as an appetizer, which has the best peanut dressing in town. They have the same menu for lunch and dinner, no lunch specials.

Dara Thai
14 S San Francisco Str
774-0047
This popular Flagstaff eatery has a pleasant, almost romantic atmosphere with colorfully painted walls, some adorned with murals and old photos. Their lunch specials are fairly priced in line with other Thai food in town and come with soup or salad. Here I’d opt for the cucumber chicken soup. Its chicken broth is infused with cucumber plus big chunks of chicken and cucumbers. Dara’s dishes are imbued with rich flavors through and through. Try Tofu Rhad Prik –fried tofu chunks with red curry, bamboo shoots, onions, mushrooms and bell peppers, the Tropical Heatwave with your choice of meat, green curry, veggies all covered in a coconut cream sauce, or classic pad Thai. The medium spiciness leaves lips tingling for a while after your meal which is a nice reminder of the lovely meal you just ate.

Bangkok Thai
2112 N 4th Street
527-3293
Bangkok Thai is an unassuming cozy restaurant with a pleasing and relaxing grass green, black and white color palate, though you’d never guess from the outside as you drive up to the strip mall that houses it. The bustling lunch crowd is a reassuring sign when you walk in. The staff is friendly and attentive. Lunch specials range from $6.50 to $9 and feature a salad with your entrée. The pad Thai here is sweet and mellow with little bits of a jazzy spiciness that ring in every few bites. Not a lot of chicken but what is in there tastes good. Others to try: Panang, garlic shrimp and the Jungle Tofu with fried tofu in coconut milk, fresh lemongrass, straw mushrooms and Thai spices.

Pato Thai
104 N San Francisco St
226-8940
Located adjacent to Hotel Monte Vista, Pato Thai is a simple restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere in a good location for downtown wandering. The menu is traditional with specials at lunch starting at $6.95 including an appetizer of fried wontons and small salad. Dishes here are plentiful with nice meat portions. Spicy is something they understand, so consider dialing down a notch from your normal Thai heat level. Dishes to try here: Panang, special pineapple fried rice and, of course, pad Thai, though I find the chicken in the pad Thai here a bit dry but the noodles and sauce are delightful.

Pato Thai in Flagstaff (includes menu)

Pato Thai
104 North San Francisco Street
Flagstaff, AZ
menu at: patothai.com

Located adjacent to Hotel Monte Vista, Pato Thai is a simple restaurant with a pleasant enough atmosphere in a good location for downtown wandering. I stopped in with my children while enjoying a walk around downtown this week.
The menu is pretty traditional with specials at lunch starting at $6.95. The lunch specials include an appetizer (2 fried wontons) and very small not too exciting salad. You can check out the full menu for lunch and dinner HERE.
I ordered the Pad Thai with chicken - a classic by which I like to compare all Thai food. The chicken was dry and bland but the flavor of noodles and sauce was sweet and quite good. There was lots of chicken in the dish which was nice to see. The dish was plentiful overall, enough to take home for a snack later.
The service was alright, like the food, but nothing to write home about.
Parents and folks who use a wheelchair (or have trouble with stairs) take note - there are no bathrooms in the restaurant. You must go through a door into the hotel, up stairs into a very narrow women's restrooms. Where, by the way, there's no baby changer. Pato is not too kid friendly overall but they do have high chairs.
All in all, Pato is a decent place but you'll be much happier walking literally around the corner to Swaddee Thai instead.
Here's a look at their menu as of July 2010: