Street Side Thai Kitchen

Where Tribute Pizza goes all-in on Naples and craft beer, Street Side does something different: it's a Thai joint that doesn't phone it in, built for North Park regulars who want solid curry on a Tuesday and know how to order. The green curry and tom yum soup get mentioned in hushed tones by people who've tried the competition. The drunken noodles come with actual wok hei — that deep, nutty char you only get when someone's cooking hot and fast — not the ketchup-sweet versions that pass for pad Thai at half the places on 30th Street.

The spice scale runs to ten and they mean it. Seven will make you reach for your Thai tea. The pineapple fried rice shows up in portions big enough to split, and the pad Thai has noodles with actual bite, not the gummy mess you've learned to tolerate. Garlic salmon fried rice is the sleeper move if you're tired of the standards. Service runs lean — sometimes one waiter holding down the whole room — but the vibe stays easy, quirky decor included.

Practical intel: lunch specials exist, outdoor seating works for dogs, and delivery doesn't murder the quality. Park on the side streets off University. This isn't the Thai restaurant trying to impress anyone. It's the one that figured out what North Park actually wants: something reliably good, spicy when you ask for it, and open when you need it.