Ryan B.
Yelp
This is a tough one because I really want to love Rice Paddy but our one experience was mediocre. First, the place is tiny and while there is some modest seating including a charming rustic outdoor patio, there's not much to it. Luckily, there's a great dive bar across the street called the Wooden Nicole that'll gladly accommodate you while you wait and let you eat in there as well. Second, it's cash only which is inconvenient. But, the food. Our ordering experience was weird. We ordered from a nice guy who didn't help us much in navigating the modest menu. He also didn't have any understanding of food allergies. My girlfriend is allergic to tree bits and he suggested that the fryer they use for almond items was fine to share with other fried foods because there was "only slivers of almonds" in the things they fry. Yeah, not how that works. He was utterly befuddled and offered no accommodation to suggest other menu items or figure out how to make it work. If you don't understand basic tenets of food allergies, don't work in the business. Later, I learned the owner gets it, but clearly hasn't passed that on to her staff. Annoying and unsafe. So, we wound up ordering stir fry orange chicken and chicken with spicy plum sauce and I got a veggie spring roll with almonds slivers. We waited at the Nickel and enjoyed the bar a lot while sipping some cheap beers. When I went to pick up our food (there was about a 30 minute wait) the man was gone and I chatted with the owner who was a delightful woman. However, she asked about the allergies and then proceeded to tell me that we ordered items that she didn't think were that great. She recommended that if we come back we should order the Pad Thai, Green Curry, or Curry with Butternut Squash - ironically items all that we had previously debated. So, I'll pass that suggestion along to Yelpers. So, the thing here is, she was standing there when we ordered and no one made any suggestions until we picked up our food?? Weird. Also, why are you offering and serving food you don't think is great? Or can you at least put some stars on the menu by your featured items? Just kinda weird. That said, we were tired and hungry and not thinking straight, so this is in us. We've eaten enough Thai food in enough places to know that we were making bad decisions lol. So, it is what it. Our food was just ok. Not great. The plum was better than the orange for sure. But neither sucked and that was a win. However, the handmade spring roll with almond was great! A giant, hand wrapped contraption with a thick, chewy doughy batter and stuffed with cabbage, vermicelli, veggies, and slivered almonds served with duck sauce. It was the best thing I had. Obviously, my girlfriend didn't indulge. All in all, if I'm ever in Marquette again I would go back and try again. I liked the place, I liked the owner, I respect that its the UP's only Thai joint, and I loved taking my carryout to a wonderful dive bar. Just bummed at how this first go-round went down.