Another Monkey is Another Thai Restaurant with Smallish, Overpriced, Oversugarded Dishes

Unimaginatively - or outright perversely! - named "Another Monkey," the new Thai restaurant opened by the owners of Koh Samui (on Brannan and 3^rd) occupies the space of what was the fashionable Conduit at 280 Valencia Street (between 14th Street and Duboce). It does not look upscale from outside, but has a tasteful décor presided over by three Thai-style (robed) standing Buddha's. Tranquility is, however, undercut by rather acidic music, however repetitive it is.

The menu is heavy with curries and with noodles (pads). The signature dish is pumpkin curry, served in the hollowed out pumpkin. Fruit salad is similarly served in a hollowed-out pineapple.

The appetizers (samosas, spring rolls, satay) were bland, the peanut sauce nothing special.

The kitchen is slow and the wait-staff smiling, but less than efficient. Experience may change both of these attributes...

I find pad thai boring, but those having it as an "acid test" for a Thai restaurant were unimpressed, criticizing it being overcooked. I tried the Garlic Beef, which I agreed was too dry.

Entrée portions are smallish (I had green-curry bass). I guess that small portions goes with striving to be upscale? Yet, as in cost-cutting Chinese restaurants, bell peppers seemed to show up in many dishes, including the pumpkin curry, which, btw, was neither spicy nor pumpkiny. San Francisco Thai restaurants (with the laudable exception of Manivanh on 24^th Street near Potrero Avenue) seem to believe that Americans like sweets, even in meat dishes. Another Monkey is another example. Having traveled over a wide swath of Thailand, I know that the food is not sugared there as in Thai restaurants here... and I deplored it even before becoming diabetic. Sugar in the batter for Crispy Calamari is particularly unwelcome to me!

Call me old-fashioned but I think that desserts should be sweet and entrees should not be sweet. Fortunately, in addition to Thai desserts no sweeter than the calamari batter, there was chocolate cake à la mode.

Another Monkey has an extensive wine list, many from obscure vineyard, but does wine go with Thai food? I don't think so. A dozen beers are available including two Thai ones: Singha and Chang. And Thai iced tea, of course, along with iced coffee (which I think is borrowed form Vietnam).

The menu is available online at www.anothermonkeythai.com.

Adventurous as San Francisco diners fancy themselves to be, I don't think there are very many craving to try monkey (which is not available on the menu). And "Another" in the name is apt in that there is nothing special about the food, but does not generate excitement, so I think the name is 0 for 2 in attracting business... and, alas, the restaurant is 0 for 2 in the primary features: food and service.