MY THAI OC
13727 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; closed Monday.
Menu: https://mythaioc.webs.com/vegan-menu
Suitable for: Vegetarians, vegans, omnivores, anyone looking to get off the beach for a good meal
We spend a lot of time on or near the boardwalk on our summer jaunts to Ocean City, Maryland, but there comes a time in every vacationer’s life when they just have to get away from the oceanside restaurants and move a little further inland – where, often, the food is better. Such was the case one night for us this trip, and we ended up the better for it.
Now, some might not come to Ocean City to eat Thai food, and up until this trip LeeLee and I were two of those someones. Living just outside DC, we have a plethora of Thai options at our disposal any time we wish, and enjoying more of the same on vacation seemed like a so-so endeavor.
But then we learned about My Thai OC and – get this – its entire separate vegan-only menu.And then we knew we had to give it a go at once.
And so we hopped in the car and drove way up Coastal Highway – almost to Delaware, really – and hung a left into a strip mall shopping center. Now, the center may not look like much, but take heart – there’s good food awaiting you inside My Thai’s storefront.
When we sat down we were greeted by one of the owners, and once we let him know we were there to see the vegan menu, his face brightened and he rushed two copies over to us right away. He stayed within arm’s reach (so to speak) for any questions we had as we perused, but never intruded, either – a nice balance that many restaurants don’t get right. After a certain amount of prayerful consideration, we came up with a game plan.
First up: Summer rolls with tofu. Veggies and tofu wrapped in soft, chewy rice paper makes for one of my very favorite starters from any cuisine the world over, and these plump pillows of goodness were wonderful offerings indeed. They were pleasingly stuffed with all manner of carrot, cucumber, romaine, cilantro, rice vermicelli and tofu, and the sweet chili sauce served alongside added the perfect amount of heat versus sweet. I toyed with the idea of stuffing another order’s worth in my pockets for later, but decided against it.
Next came our main courses. For my part, I chose Pad Woon Sen, a combination I can’t say I’d ever had before. But I love all of the ingredients – rice vermicelli, tofu, snow peas, carrots, broccoli, green onion and more – and together they made a beautiful harmony. So often noodle dishes can rely too heavily on oil to carry and marry the flavors, but this Pad Woon Sen stood on its own without such crutches. Instead, the noodle dish was bright and light to the taste without a great deal of binders to weigh it down. I loved every morsel.
LeeLee, meanwhile, took the owner up on his recommendation of the vegan steak, which consisted of a grilled Beyond burger loaded up with carrots, green beans and onions and soaked in a choice of Thai basil, garlic pepper or yellow curry sauce. LeeLee chose the garlic pepper, and he chose correctly – the lighter sauce yielded to the vegetables and protein much more easily and allowed the other flavors to sing. It’s such a treat to have something truly meaty “in public” – so often, tofu fills the void, which is a wonderful thing but can get a bit tedious from time to time. This steak dish most certainly was vibrant.
And what, pray tell, would a beach-vacation dinner be without a bite of dessert? There were three vegan desserts on offer that night, and we chose the mango sticky rice. The mango was perfectly ripe, pliable without being mealy, and the sweet sticky rice was a perfect accoutrement to the fruit. Coconut milk held it all together, and we mowed every bite down.
Every time we visit Ocean City, we lament that after all our years of vacations there we’ve created a longer dining list than we have time for! But My Thai OC will certainly make the short list from here on out. From the food to the service, it’s top-notch. We’ll definitely be back.
:)