Click here for a review by former New York Times restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, in November 2004.

Really good Thai food is difficult to find in New York City, although places that offer pad thai and tom kha gai are a dime a dozen in this town. Sripraphai is one of the few that excels, in my opinion. Long may it continue.

Pix from this afternoon’s lunch:

Sweet pork sausage with scallion, Thai chile, cucumber, onion, tomatoes and lime juice

Green papaya salad with crispy catfish, Thai chile and onion

And while you could come here and get the usual Thai restaurant standbys — pad thai in its innumerable variety, tom kha gai (chicken soup with straw mushrooms, lime and coconut milk) and fried pork with basil, garlic and black pepper, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t order at least one of Sripraphai’s signature dishes. For example:

Duck and Chinese watercress over rice

Or you could try this:

Pork with chili peppers and basil

Chicken laksa (chicken curry soup, with bean sprouts, egg and crispy rice noodles)

The food does not pander to American sensibilities. It doesn’t dumb itself down. It’s delightful in every sense of the word.

How much did this cost, you ask? $70 for three people. Not shown are three orders of coconut juice, for $3 each. In fact, there was so much food that we took some home.

If you live in New York and you haven’t experienced this place, you owe it to yourself to go.

Sripraphai is located at 64-13 39th Avenue (Roosevelt Avenue) in Woodside, Queens.