This is probably my trickiest review so far. Tl;dr it’s pretty great, uncommon (ly good) flavors, still working out some kinks. Give it a shot!
Prik Hom is undergoing a soft opening right now. It fills the space occupied by my once-beloved Derm Restaurant, with which Prik Hom has no affiliation. The staff is small, with (I think) two people working the front and two in the back – the chef apparently arrived a month ago from Thailand and is the sibling of one of the owners. The concept seems to be a combination of fresh california ingredients prepared with very old-fashioned thai curries (which are apparently dying out in Thailand due to the high level of labor required). Laborious indeed – the menu states that all curry pastes are made by hand in house.
The menu is intentionally limited at the moment while the restaurant searches for a second chef.
We ordered the lotus root salad, the grilled freshwater shrimp larb, the aromatic curry with beef, and stir-fried squid with salted egg sauce.
Lotus root salad: Tender lotus stems, supremed grapefruit segments, herbs, baby bitter leaves, and fish sauce all come together to create a fresh-sour crunchy salad. 4/5.
Grilled freshwater shrimp larb: Three large whole freshwater shrimp were split and charred, then dressed with smokey eggplant segments, toasted rice powder, herbs, and citrus. Everything about this dish was excellent except the shrimp, which had very mushy meat. The flavors were wonderful, but the shrimp was not to my taste. 3/5.
Aromatic curry with beef: Roasted and caramelized beef brisket was cut into chunks and served in a rich, sweet, aromatic (it’s the best word) curry. I have a pretty good nose but was unable to pick out all of the spices involved; regardless, the dish was delicious and complex and unlike any curry I’ve ever had (except maybe distant cousins with japanese curry). 5/5.
Stir-fried squid with salted egg sauce: This is one of my favorite dishes and I was fairly satisfied. Tiny squid were delicately hatched and sauteed in a salted egg-yolk sauce with green onions, white onions, and more onions, and was served with a half a roasted Fresno (?) pepper on top. The sauce was good but there were way too many onions in this dish. 3.5/5.
We didn’t get dessert or drinks, and the bill came out to about $110 with tip and leftovers. The food was, on balance, quite good. However, the texture of the shrimp and onion overload were off-putting, and neither of the entrees were very hot when they arrived. That said, the service was warm and kind, guiding us with excitement and knowledge when asked and giving us space to deliberate when needed.
So, would I go back? Yes, definitely, sooner rather than later, especially as the chef tries out new curries.
