MUKU OWNERS

Cost: About $15 per person

Josh and I went to a Cubs game a few weeks ago, and once again the issue of where to eat in Wrigleyville came up. Our dads were coming to the game too which threw a curveball into the mix since Scott (Joshs dad) likes to eat a little healthy. I pitched the idea of Luckys (which I dont really like all that much anyways, but seemed like a moderately acceptable option), but when we got there, the line was too long. We went looking for some Mexican restaurant that Scott used to like, but it had closed. After all this wandering around we more or less landed in front of Cozy Noodles and Rice.

Cozy Noodles and Rice is kiddie corner to Wrigley Field. In such a loud and busy part of town, its impressive how quiet they manage to keep things. The whole interior is decked out in paraphernalia and animation. Its very colorful. We sat outside since it was warm out, but the service suffered from not being in the main restaurant. In an unfortunate turn of events, there was a big spill of all of our water which made for a long and drawn out apology that was even more awkward than the spill. Given that we were in a bit of a rush to make the first pitch, the service seemed particularly slow. The cost is average for your basic Thai place as most entrees were just sub $10. I should also mention that its BYOB, but we didnt prepare adequately for these last minute plans.

We got the appetizer sampler to start which had Egg Rolls, Shrimp Spring Rolls, and Crab Rangoon. The rangoon was heavy on the cream cheese with a light wonton. The egg roll was simple but too thin and crispy to taste the filling. The shrimp rolls were standard and had a good shrimp to wrapping ratio. We also ordered the seaweed salad which was a little heavy on the sweet dressing but refreshing nonetheless. All in all a pretty decent start.

The Seaweed Salad

 The Appetizer Sampler

To preface all of the main course, they try to sell you on the crispy version of many classic Thai dishes. They deep fry most any noodle that youd normally have. My dad got the Crispy Chicken Pad Thai, Josh had the Crispy Pad See Ew, Scott got the Beef and Broccoli, and I had the Panang Curry with Beef. The crispy noodles were just awful. The texture was somewhere in between fried and soft/chewy. There was no getting past that, but Id also mention that the chicken was overcooked. The curry was too thin for my liking although the flavor profile was spicy with a good peanut presence. The beef chunks in the dish were overly chewy though. 

The Crispy Pad Thai

I clearly wont be going back to Cozy Thai. This was just another stop in the string of bad meals Ive had before a Cubs game. The whole crispy noodle thing is a mess, and the other dishes are mediocre at best. Im giving them 1 out of 5 Pearls.