Tuk Tuk Real closing, becoming Circles Thai
The Thai has been broken, and Mexican cuisine is off the menu.
Sunday, June 28 will be last night of Tuk Tuk Real, the "Thai taqueria" mashing up the Thai cooking of chef Alex Boonphaya and the Mexican cooking of his sous chef, Silvestre Rincón-Tellez, at 429 South St.
The location will reopen by late July as the third location of Circles Thai.
From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the last day, Tuk Tuk Real will give out a free taco as a goodbye gesture.
Tuk Tuk Real opened in September 2014; point of interest: it's the long-ago home of South Street's landmark Tang's.
Circles opened in 2008 as Plan-Eat-Thai in a converted Chinese takeout at 1516 Tasker St., at the corner of Tasker and Hicks Streets in South Philadelphia.
By early 2011, with the business renamed Circles, the family converted a space across the Hicks St. into a 36-seat dining room and began shuttling the food across the street. Craig LaBan paid a two-bell call on the place.
A second Circles opened in late 2011 at 812 N. Second St. in Northern Liberties.
As for the name "Tuk Tuk Real" (say it "took took ray-AL"): It's is a mashup, as well. The tuk tuk is Boonphaya's preferred mode of transportation in Thailand, and Real from is Rincon-Tellez's favorite soccer team: Real Madrid.