North Austin restaurant offers original variation on traditional Thai dishes

Tucked among the shopping centers and big-box retailers of Northwest Austin is a restaurant dedicated to bringing an original spin to the traditional methods of Thai cooking.

Spin Modern Thai Cuisine co-owners Kuan Tan and Alphonso Dryer opened the restaurant in April with a vision of moving the Thai culinary experience beyond pad thai and curry dishes.

"We wanted to elevate the status of Thai cuisine," Dryer said. "Unlike Japanese or Chinese cuisine, not many people talk about Thai food unless it is something for lunch."

To ensure their restaurant elevated beyond that of a traditional Thai eatery, Tan and Dryer have given their executive chefs the freedom to create menu items that feature classic Thai flavors with more modern ingredients and methods. Executive chefs Ek Timrerk and Thai Chagthong both came to Spin from the popular Austin sister restaurants Uchi and Uchiko.

Because the chefs are given free rein to create and experiment with new and nontraditional dishes, Spin's menu is regularly updated, Tan said.

"Every two weeks, we go through a new [menu] revamp," he said. "Every time customers come back, they can try something new."

The menu at Spin goes through so many updates, in fact, that Tan said only three items remain from when the restaurant opened last April.

While some of the spices and flavors on the Spin menu may sound familiar to Thai food diners, the proteins and cooking methods are what make the restaurant unique, Tan said.

All of the meats at Spin are chargrilled on top of binchotan, or traditional Japanese hardwood coals that allow food to cook at lower temperatures.

"We wanted to make sure we were not the same as other Thai restaurants that serve primarily curries and pad thai," Tan said. "Because at that point, we just become like a chain restaurant."

Aside from the taste and quality of the meals, Tan said Spin also places an emphasis on plate presentations and wait staff service.

"Service plays a big part here," Tan said. "[Waiters] walk the customers through the menu. They are our sales team—they have tried the food, and they know what to recommend."

Tan and Dryer both said Spin's dedication to quality food, service and presentation is paying dividends. The restaurant has even begun to attract diners from central and south Austin, Dryer said.

"If you have good food, people will come from down south, too," Dryer said. "We have just kept plugging away at it, and word of mouth has gone a long way. People keep coming back and bringing their friends."

A sample of the menu

Spin Modern Thai Cuisine offers separate lunch and dinner menus. The lunch menu features several noodle- and rice-based plates. The dinner menu is divided into starters, individual-sized appetizers, tasting plates, appetizers meant to be shared and full plates featuring full entres.

Belly on Fire ($14) — Panko-breaded pork belly smothered in a special curry sauce, topped with microgreens, sauteed cipollini onions, basil and toasted chili

Saba Mi Krop ($15) — Chargrilled, smoked Norwegian mackerel topped with pickled serrano peppers, a ginger garlic paste, Thai chili and black soy, all placed over a bed of crispy egg noodles

Tiger Cry ($12) — Chargrilled beef sirloin, lime juice, grape tomato, sliced mint and red radishes served with a nam pla chili emulsion and sprinkled with crushed toasted rice

Seared duck in pineapple curry ($15) — Duck breast cured with five spices, then pan-seared and served with a spicy pineapple curry kaffir lime, grapes and pineapple, garnished with Thai basil and toasted bread

Fried ice cream ($6) — Ice cream rolled in pound cake and tempura batter, then deep-fried and topped with crushed peanut toffee, marshmallows and golden raisins

Spin Modern Thai Cuisine, 14005 N. US 183, Ste. 1000, Austin, 512-258-1365, www.spinmodernthai.com

• Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m.–2 p.m. and 5–9 p.m.
• Fri. 11 a.m.–2 p.m. and 5–10 p.m.
• Sat. 5–10 p.m.
• Sun. 5–9 p.m.