Thai
In terms of sheer numbers, Thai cuisine is probably better represented in Portland than any other. Most establishments fall in the category of places like Thanh Thao on Hawthorne and Tom Yum Thai just up the hill on Woodstock: inexpensive and reliably decent standbys for those occasions when Commons looks grim and you are just too lazy to cook for yourself. While its shabby décor leaves much to be desired, Thanh Thao has some good dishes (not to mention very large ones – you will always find yourself with leftovers). The curry soups, with a thinner consistency than the typical curry, are spicy and quite delicious. A lengthy menu extends to putatively Chinese dishes of dubious merit. At Tom Yum Thai, the range of choices might be less suspiciously eclectic, but there are also fewer standouts. Ultimately what lends a frisson of palatability to both Thanh Thao and Tom Yum Thai is their dishes' relatively well-adjusted sweetness. At all-too-many other Thai restaurants (viz. Thai Thai), a cloying sugary blanket smothers the harmony of tastes which distinguishes Thai cuisine as one of the world's greatest.
For a truer taste of Thailand, I suggest Pok Pok. At the time of writing, only a short take-out menu and outdoor seating were available; by publication, the full-fledged restaurant will probably be up and running. But even with just the limited choices on the take-out menu, the food proves exceptionally worthy. Pok Pok's balanced handling of flavors belies the graceless approach endemic in most Thai restaurants – and if almost every thing on the menu features the charbroiled game hen that's their speciality, then so be it, because it's absolutely terrific. The papaya salad is also marvellous: tangy, piquant and sweet, it's just the thing to complement the seared savoriness of the accompanying, uh, game hen.
Two common choices for upscale Thai are Typhoon and Lemongrass. It's possible to eat reasonably well at both, but for the price, neither can be described as especially impressive dining. The latter is infamous for its devastating 1-20 spiciness scale; few can withstand heat above a tongue-scorching 5. If you have enough patience for the interminable wait at the perennially understaffed Khun Pic's, it's a better option than either Typhoon or Lemongrass. The cooking is homey, fresh and excellent. Tucked away in a gorgeous renovated Victorian house on Belmont, it's a real treat to dine in such a lovely setting.
Further from campus, but by many accounts the best Thai restaurant in town, Siam Society is also one of the few Thai places with enough poise to incorporate other influences into its cooking. Its very Northwestern use of seasonal ingredients is classy and commendable – and the few suspect results of its more open approach (sweet potato fries with white truffle oil, anyone?) are easy to avoid.
Khun Pic's Bahn Thai: 3429 SE Belmont $$-$$$
Lemongrass: 1705 NE Couch St $$
Pok Pok: 3226 SE Division $-$$ R
Siam Society: 2703 NE Alberta St $$-$$$ R
Thai Thai: 4604 SE Hawthorne Blvd $-$$
Thanh Thao: 4005 SE Hawthorne Blvd $-$$
Tom Yum Thai: 4309 SE Woodstock Blvd #140 $$
Typhoon: 2310 NW Everett St $$-$$$