Chicago Thai BYOBs

TAC Quick Thai
This slick little spot sports gussied-up decor and a soundtrack of random techno, but that doesn’t mean the food isn’t at least as authentic as what you’ll find at your favorite hole-in-the-wall. Just order from the small chalkboard of specials or the translated Thai menu. We never visit without an order of the sausage (be sure to get peanuts and raw ginger in each bite), the fried chicken wings and the crispy on choy (fried water spinach, shrimp and ground chicken in a sweet-spicy-sour dressing). 3930 N Sheridan Rd, 773-327-5253.—Heather Shouse
Corkage fee $1 per person
Best nearby liquor store Sheridan Irving L Liquor (3944 N Sheridan Rd, 773-528-6753)

Rosded
Homestyle dishes like the tangy “waterfall” beef salad, papaya salad with pickled crab and crispy catfish steaks smothered in red-curry sauce aren’t to be missed. The English translation of the Thai menu is gone, but tell the patient servers you’re looking for the real deal and you’ll be rewarded. 2308 W Leland Ave, 773-334-9055.
Corkage fee None
Best nearby liquor store Leland Inn (4664 N Western Ave, 773-561-4109).

Sticky Rice
Go beyond your usual Thai standbys and experiment with the Northern Thai specialties: Try both kinds of funkified pork sausage to compare and contrast, then move on to the gang hang lay, a Northern-style pork in red curry with brilliant notes of ginger, and gang som toon, catfish in sour curry soup. 4018 N Western Ave, 773-588-0133.
Corkage fee None
Best nearby liquor store West Lakeview Liquors (2156 W Addison St, 773-525-1916)

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