STREET SCENE THAI MARKET evokes the sidewalks of Bangkok. thought and effort had clearly gone into most of these dishes and the extras with them. A shaved fennel salad joined the crab. Pickled cauliflower cozied up to the chicken. And Grayz seemed like something that might be worth a bit of a wait.

Anyone who has eaten at the simple restaurants opening onto the streets of bangkok will feel transported upon walkung into Thai Market. Backlighted blowups of food scenes are so evocative of that city that they make you smile. The food does, too
The room is a clever mix of contemporary and old-fashioned : the photos cover old brick walls ; huge red upside-down umbrellas disguise the original tin ceiling.
The place has a floor-to-ceiling glass front and a modern version of marble-top ice cream tables. Temple bells share a wall with a sign that says, "We do not serve incomplete parties."
The food at THAImarket, which opened in April and does not yet have a liquor license, was also a blend of traditional and new, as well as tasty. The young manager told me Thai recipes are made "with things Americans like," which I discovered soon enough. That’s how you get avocado in massaman curry and tomato in a green papaya salad, though a friend told me thetomato in the salad was not uncommon in Thailand.
But despite my aversion to the Upper West Side penchant for mixing -- and mixing badly -- Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean and who knows what other food in one restaurant, those few American additions to Thai cuisine were not offensive. Probably because the food still tasted good, and basically Thai.
I could have wished for a little more depth in some of the dishes, like the tom yum goong soup with shrimp and lemon grass, but the lightly battered fried calamari with a sweet, slightly hot plum sauce were the kind you don’t want to share. Add the fast, pleasant service, and this restaurant is a keeper.
Beside. it has two of my favorite desserts : ginger ice cream and green pearl tapioca in a cconut milk pudding.