Back in NYC, there are a couple of Koreatowns, three massive Chinatowns, and all sorts of pocket communities, but nothing equivalent to a Thai neighborhood. When I first moved to L.A. last October, I couldn’t find a map that would easily pinpoint Thai Town. Its boundaries seemed malleable (though it’s roughly on Hollywood and Sunset boulevards between Western and Normandie avenues), and its restaurants were fiercely debated. Many argued that the best Thai food had already migrated into NoHo.

While that may or may not be the case, the Hollywood nabe boasts the highest concentration of Thais in the U.S. and offers exotic fare that’s difficult to find anywhere in this part of the Western Hemisphere. My way of getting to know any hood is by stark immersion—which, for better or worse, amounts to unrelenting food and drink consumption. Eighteen hours in Thai Town and a bounty of fish maw soups and fragrant Southern curries before me? Game on »