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PROVINCETOWN GUIDE
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| DIRECTORY |
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Provincetown :: Tuesday, February 9th 2010
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Johnny Thai’s
Dim Sum, Pad Thai, & Cocktails at The Monkey Bar
By Guy Wolf of Provincetown Magazine
July 16th, 2009
Johnny Pak, chef and owner of Johnny Thai Bistro and the Monkey Bar (149 Commercial Street, Provincetown) is a restaurateur at heart. It is the business he knows best. At one point, he owned two establishments in Albany, NY, (he recently sold one), and he admits opening a third in Provincetown was the last thing he had in mind when he did just that 16 years ago.
| “My guests come back to visit us year after year, and are here to have a great time so I hire people with unique personalities who are out-going, confident, and independent thinkers.” |
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“Two of my friends had a place here and they said to me, ‘You have to open a restaurant in Provincetown.’ I yes’d them to death, but finally broke down and made the trip from Albany. They set me up with a realtor who had two places for me to look at. This location was one of them and I said, ‘it’s a dump but I’ll take it’.”
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Manhattan and Albany, NY, Pak had already taken over a 37-year-old family restaurant in Albany, bought a second restaurant and bar there, and really wasn’t looking to open a third. But, like so many before him, he succumbed to the charms of Provincetown.
“I came to Provincetown and fell in love with this charming, quaint place and thought, I’ll give it a shot.”
It is no stretch of the imagination to imagine the charismatic Johnny Pak doing things big. His positive energy is infectious and is reflected in a staff that literally goes out of its way to welcome guests (he does not like calling them “customers”). He is a self-admitted people-person and looks for that quality in his staff.
“My guests come back to visit us year after year, and are here to have a great time so I hire people with unique personalities who are out-going, confident, and independent thinkers.”
The menu itself is both abundant and eclectic, and includes Thai, Chinese, and American fare. Menu items include: Thai Bangkok Shrimp and Chicken with Thai Red Chili Sauce; Crispy Orange Beef, lightly battered and fried; and a Cape Cod Clam Platter served with fries and tartar sauce.
On his food philosophy, Pak says, “I am a happy, positive person and that is reflected in my food and brushes off to people and lets them know, ‘I’ll take care of you.’ I do this by using only fresh ingredients, locally grown whenever possible, and all the food is made to order.”
He stares intently and says with animated emphasis, ”I like tasty. I don’t like bland anything.”
One of his most popular dishes is the ever-present Pad Thai, but in Pak’s words, this isn’t any old Pad Thai; “It is kick-ass Pad Thai.”
He can’t help himself and adds, “We also have the best burger in town.”
Take-out is available and the full menu is served until 1 a.m. This is a unique feature in a town that often stops serving full meals at 11 p.m. He recently added Sunday brunch from 12 to 3 p.m. to his already expansive menu. This is no ordinary, high-calorie, eggs and bacon brunch; this is what Pak calls “Dim Sum Sundays.”
He adds, “We serve our Dim Sum, Chinatown-style in steamers. Very few things are fried. It is both healthy and tasty.”
This unique brunch experience features some 27 selections you order separately and can share with friends, like Steamed Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaves, Steamed Red Bean Buns, Steamed Rice Noodle with Shrimp, and Baked Sweet Egg Custard.
Along with the menu in the restaurant, he also created many of the martinis on The Monkey Bar’s menu – cocktails with names like I was with Mary (vodka, blue Curacao, lime, and sour, with a splash of cranberry), I was on the Beach (vodka, peach, orange juice, and grenadine), and I Was Looking for Your Number (Vodka, black raspberry, fresh lemons, sour, and lime).
Most off all, he wants potential guests who haven’t made the trip down to his part of the West End to know that at Johnny Thai’s Bistro and The Monkey Bar, “the food is awesome…We know we can’t please everybody but we try to.”
Johnny Thai Bistro and The Monkey Bar is located at 149 Commercial Street in the West End. They are open 12 p.m. to
1 a.m., seven days a week. For more information or to place a take-out order, call 508.487.2879.
Also visit ProvincetownMagazine.net for more articles and information.
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