I don’t think Pestle Rock in Ballard gets nearly enough buzz for its excellent Thai cuisine. Not only is it one of few (if any?) Thai restaurants in the city that sources its ingredients from quality farms and producers (Carlton Farms, Anderson Farms, Draper Valley), but they also have harder-to-find items like frog legs, trout, salmon, and catfish preparations and curries and salads with ingredients like wild boar collar. Plus, they know how to do spicy the Thai way—so hot it hurts, yet still flavorful. I have so many dishes I like there, but this week I really dug their Gai Phad Prick Gang. While it’s a staple Thai dish, theirs is made with stir-fried Draper Valley chicken, a housemade chile paste, pert and tart chunks of green Thai eggplant, perfectly steamed green beans, kachai root (or Chinese ginger), and actual fresh chilies (the kind that haven’t been dried, but resemble little bunches of tiny capers and bring serious heat). It’s a wonderfully balanced dish—and perfect for summer with its bright-green veggies.

nsprinkle@seattleweekly.com