My Favorite Restaurants near Newtown: #5

Upon an extensive Yelp scan of five minutes, three weeks ago or so, two options of gastronomic merit appeared. Xay’s kitchen, a family run Thai/Laotian eatery. The second, of much lesser gastronomic merit, the Danbury Hospital Bistro. Situated in the middle of the Danbury Hospital, Danbury Hospital Bistro remains a strong presence within the Yelp community of the greater Danbury area boasting four stars. Undoubtedly safe, as if one happens to suffer a cardiac arrest from potato wedges, a licensed doctor of some form will more than likely be next to you enjoying a Caesar salad on a lunch break. Using some outdated menu formatting, from Microsoft Excel 2007, the menu looks strikingly identical to something your 5th grader could compose for a class project. It takes a unique soul to expect anything momentous from a hospital cafeteria. Take Stuart B, a Danbury Yelper, and one of the only two people to take time to leave a review for a hospital cafeteria.

If it wasn’t for Stuart B looking out for the common man, I might have found myself eating old and tired potato wedges with skin “so thick.” Such bravery is admirable. I put out an open invitation for Stuart B to join me for lunch at Xay’s kitchen, a restaurant not in a hospital cafeteria.

Xay’s Kitchen is my #5 pick for various reasons. On the back wall, visible to the entire dining room, hangs a flat screen TV. For those not aware, any restaurant streaming anything off of YouTube shuffle mode indefinitely is worth spending money at. My first impression of Xay’s left me face to face with the Thai syndicated version of The Masked Singer. No further incentive needed, I sat down.

Sausage, especially sausage of homemade lineage, is incomparable. A snappy case when between teeth should indicate whether or not to trust the honesty of those serving you. At Xay’s, a snappy sausage case is rudimentary. Filled with lemongrass, galangal, cilantro, possibly mint, for flavors of such stringency, monetary investment is near to null.

What looks like a menu of Americanized Thai classicality, whole fried snapper covered in sweet chili sauce, fresh noodles, papaya salad with absorbent amounts of fish sauce and Thai iced tea garnished with paper straw roses, quickly dissuade such a notion. Splurge ordering should be monitored as my last visit reached $60 unknowingly and not everyone has a father to force payment.

For those religiously attached to Pho Vietnam try Xay’s. Wait time is minimal. You’ll still find comfort location wise if sketchy strip malls are your thing. As it is family run, you’ll even have the opportunity to have what looks like the owner's 12-year-old son take your order. The first time I went, a lack of cash at the register prompted him charging me $10 for a $16 meal. You have nothing to lose, that is unless the owner's 12-year-old son overcharges your order.

Xay’s Kitchen

35 White St

Unit 4

Danbury, CT 06810