One of the few restaurants in the Greater New Orleans area offering authentic dishes from northeastern Thailand is opening an “express” location in Lakeview. Thai Zaap Café at 6601 Veterans Memorial Blvd. in Metairie offers many popular American Thai dishes and some pan-Asian favorites, but the restaurant truly distinguishes itself for featuring famously spicy dishes from Thailand’s Isan region. Permit filings with the City of New Orleans indicate Thai Zaap Express will be located at 7211 Regent St. It is currently in a construction phase that involves non-structural renovations.
The New York Times has recently been chronicling the rise of Isan food in the Big Apple, and Thai restaurants around the US seem to be slowly embracing this trend. Often having “zaab” or “zaap” in the name, Isan restaurants showcase a fiery cuisine reported to be one of the dominant styles back in Thailand, similar to the way Southern cooking has become a dominant force in the US.
