An Experience Not Worth Repeating*

In college, a feast of all-night studying usually meant popcorn and soda for nourishment or, if lucky, some ramen noodles, of course. Now that I’m married, it means ordering in. I should have gone with the popcorn Saturday night.

We ordered from Rice Shop, a restaurant whose menu I found in my entryway. I had assumed since people in this building ordered from there it shouldn’t be too bad. That or they lack taste buds.

No, I shouldn’t be so harsh. My husband’s order of shrimp pad thai was “not worse than other places”, even if there were just 3 pieces of shrimp and they charged $1 for extra peanuts (understandable but unique). My spicy thai tataki beef salad wasn’t bad either — there were pieces of meat (kinda fatty but well-cooked) and mango, pineapple, peppers, lettuce with a sweet and spicy dressing that was enjoyable. My tom yum goong with shrimp and thai noodles soup, however, was not well put together. The broth was delicious - spicy and spiked with lime juice - but it was so overloaded with noodles (and scant veggies and shrimp) that it wasn’t much like a soup. More like tasty wet noodles.

I should add that I had decided on ordering from there also because they offer some steamed dishes advertised as healthy. I didn’t end up ordering healthy dishes, though. Hey - I was studying and needed calories for energy!

I don’t think I’d order from there again, but I may give them a chance if I was walking around Hoboken, desperate for thai with no other option before me. I would be open to trying other dishes from here since they do have a fairly extensive menu, including Vietnamese plates, but I likely wouldn’t get what I ordered Saturday night. The food was filling enough to fuel my studies until 2AM.

If you’ve had better or similar experiences, please post your comments below.

Rice Shop
304 Washington St
201-798-8382
(you can order online at delivery.com)

It’s BYOB

— by Donna M.
Both a Jersey native and recent transplant from NYC, Donna M. is obsessed with both good food and grammar.

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