Thanksgiving is nigh, but we’re looking at something totally different: the hot, soupy street noodles at Dakzen on Elm Street as it flows into David Square. It has a pretty packed menu, with a lot of basic Thai fare such as tom yum soup, pad-se-ew, pad Thai and spicy gra-pows, but the most fun is found on an additional “executive chef selection,” which offers fun, inventive spins on the traditional. And many of them bring the heat.
For much of Dakzen’s menu, your choices for proteins are beef, pork, tofu, chicken and, from the sea, squid and shrimp. Bases include a crispy Thai Noodle, a thin, vermicellilike rice noodle and a flat noodle typical of pad-se-ew. There are some other noodle spins, and that’s where the fun comes in on the chef selections. Let’s start with the wok-fried udon with Sriracha – heat for the heart on a cold day – and my most satisfying slurp, the ob-woon-zen, tender glass noodles that come with accents of ginger, garlic and peppercorn seeds topped off with Dakzen’s delicious, dark sesame sauce.
The folks in the Dakzen kitchen have an appreciation for the delicate nature of shrimp, which are plump and always come out succulent and tender here. Add those shrimp to the wok-fried udon and you’ll have a hard time looking at anything else on the menu the next time in – but you’d be cheating yourself.
Not too far down the laminated menu are the rad nar noodles, your choice of noodle style and protein in a hearty Thai gravy sauce and topped with chopped Asian broccoli. The brown sauce packs the pleasurable pucker of sweet sesame. Go with the flat noodles and shrimp, and you’ve got another irrefutable must-have.
It’s hard not to go for the shrimp again, but also among the selections are mus-sa-man and kai pa-lo entrees: long-stewed, bone-in chicken and potatoes in a curry rub broth, and braised pork belly in a sweet sauce and spice with boiled eggs and fried tofu.
The appetizers and sides promise taste bud titillation with the gui-chai-tod, golden triangle vegetable dumplings with a ginger soy sauce for dipping, and goong ma kham, golden-fried shrimp with a tamarind sauce. The adventurous can get a side of fried pork skin. Dakzen has a festive night-bodega vibe to it, and the service and food comes at you fast.
Dakzen is a friendly operation and one that will warm up your soul on these temperature-dropping days, giving you a tasty alternative should you OD on turkey.
Dakzen, 195 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville
Cambridge writer Tom Meek’s reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in WBUR’s The ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
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