Mommy Pai’s Chicken Fingers in NYC

Though it’s usually my colleague Tammie Teclemariam who reports from the queue outside the restaurants du jour, I wait on my share of lines — anyone who wants to try the latest places often has to. In our pop-up, limited-time, no-table ecosystem, waiting to order at some point is basically a given, and in the case of Mommy Pai’s, the new chicken-finger-centric takeout shop from Ann Redding and Matt Danzer of nearby Thai Diner and the now-shuttered Uncle Boons, it was all but guaranteed.

Indeed, since Mommy Pai’s opened on August 8, social media has redounded with news of lengthy waits; the threshold before annoyance sets in seems to be about 45 minutes, though various Yelpers and reviewers have reported times that stretch far longer. Two hours is a long wait for a chicken finger, especially when that wait is conducted on a trafficky bit of Mott Street in the full sun of August. Is it worth it?

The short version: Mommy Pai’s is very good. Your personal wait-benefit analysis will vary, but I would set my own upper limit around 20 to 25 minutes, I think.

That’s about how long I ended up waiting on a Friday afternoon, and I was none the worse for it. Mommy Pai’s — in the same Mott Street space where Redding and Danzer formerly had their American counter, Mr. Donahue’s, and the takeout spot for their original Thai restaurant, Uncle Boons Sister — has a kitschy, wood-and-glass-brick storefront on Mott designed by Redding’s sister, May, and a smallish covered streetery for those looking to stay. “Mommy” is Ampai Redding (née Chailat), the sisters’ mother, who is a sort of mascot. The menu and website feature shots of her in traditional Thai garb and painted into permanence by a 1970s Thai movie-poster artist, Khun Ott.

The reasons people line up here at all are the chicken fingers, available grilled or fried, in one of four preparations with one of eight sauces. The chicken is loudly advertised as organic, which is good, but is quietly presented as thigh meat, which is better — more flavorful and juicier than the cottony breast meat of most chicken fingers.

The number of possible combinations and customizations quickly becomes confusing — lemongrass, spicy red curry, and “Muay Thai” fingers can be grilled or fried; coconut fingers are only available fried — and that’s before adding sides, supplementary items, or drinks. In the interest of clarity, I’ll keep my recommendation simple: To me, a chicken finger should be fried, and of the fried options I tasted, the coconut was a winner. If you’re going grilled, I’d opt for the Muay Thai, which is made with a combination of garlic, soy, and fish sauce that really perks up otherwise simple grilled chicken.

Where Mommy Pai’s really got me was the sauces. Of the eight available, my top three picks are the Phuket Island Sauce, a coral-colored Thousand Island cream sauce spicy with galangal and green peppercorn; the noom spicy green sauce, a play on nam prik noom that’s chutney-thick with a fruity heat from green chiles; and passionfruit–pink-peppercorn sweet and sour, with a McDonald’s sweet-and-sour profile that has a heavier tropical-fruit influence.

Of the various sides, I preferred the legitimately spicy drunken-broccoli salad (vegan!), and I am confident I would’ve liked the curry-puff mozzarella sticks had they only not sold out. Mommy Pai has a surprisingly robust menu besides chicken fingers. The Hat Yai veggies (cauliflower, mushroom, extra-long snake beans, bok choy, and purple sweet potato) are nicely fried and similarly friendly with any of the sauces. And there are a few fast-food-inspired sandwiches, of which I am surprised to find myself recommending the fried tofu, a Superiority Burger–style McAvatar with a crispy block of tofu and American cheese on a squishy bun that, one of my co-testers said, was surprisingly faithful to the O-Fish original.

Thai iced tea, Thai beer, and even Thai seltzer are on offer to drink, but the showier options are a quartet of tropical-fruit slushies. (Fast food and tropical drinks are, of course, a classic New York combination; looking at you, Papaya Dog.) Mango-coconut was nice, but I preferred pineapple–Thai basil for its vivid green look and icier profile.

As with all mix-and-match menus, your own preferences may vary. So to counterbalance my own take, I asked Redding what Mommy Pai’s own perfect order is. “She is a straight-up grilled Muay Thai with nam prik noom, lettuce-wrap-combo woman,” Redding told me. (She says Mommy Pai used to make lettuce wraps at Roy Rogers using the fixins bar back in the day.) “She did say she really liked all the sauces,” Redding continued. “Coming from my mom, the comment floored me. She is the ultimate Thai critic.” For those looking to follow the advice of the namesake, there you have it. Mommy knows best.

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