Thai Monkey Club opens in Baker on Saturday with a buy-one-get-one-free special for a week

Real "Thai spicy." That's what owner and Chiang Mai native Joy Phom promises at Thai Monkey Club, opening on Saturday at 102 South Broadway, in the Baker neighborhood. To celebrate (and bring more folks through the door), she's offering a buy-one-get-one-free special up to $10 that's applicable to anything on the menu for a week.

As part of the opening festivities, Thai dancers will perform tomorrow at 7 and 8 p.m. There will also be raffles for hand-carved wooden sculptures and purses from Thailand. To participate, all you have to do is show up, eat and write your name and phone number down in case you get chosen.

The menu features all the Thai basics like pad Thai, curries, drunken noodles, chicken satay and crab rangoon. Dishes unique to the shop include duck noodle soup and plakung, a spicy shrimp salad with cilantro, lemongrass and other fresh herbs.

A mural in the restaurant.

Most entrees cost around $8 to $10 with a couple of house specials ringing in at $14. The restaurant also features a weekday lunch special -- $6.95 for an entree and a basket of shrimp chips with peanut sauce -- from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

And the restaurant could be a one-stop shop if you're in the market for insurance or need to file your income taxes. Phom's husband is opening a business doing those things next door.

The restaurant is in the process of applying for a liquor license and expects to get that "in a few months," according to Phom. In the meantime, the joint offers takeout, and delivery service will start in November.

The Monkey Club's hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.