Thai two ways a la Logan Circle: Rice and Thai Tanic

Alison’s reviews on her new neighborhood spots:

An examination of my favorite ethnic cuisine in my new ‘hood – one with a chic vibe and the other my go-to take out joint.

Rice

I was eager to try this neighborhood spot and was not disappointed! 

The setting:
Rice is very feng shui minimalist chic – spare tables, light washes as a nod to wall décor, and an exposed brick wall.  I recently visited on a Friday night (note: on the early-ish side: 7pm) and was seated right away, although it did get crowded later on.  I wished for a table along the perimeter of the room, but that’s more of a personal preference, and those tables seemed to be reserved for 4 people as opposed to our party of 2.

The service:
Unobtrusive, adequate – nothing to note either good or bad, which was fine by us for a laid back meal in a neighborhood spot.

The Food:
The menu is divided into three sections: house specials, traditional Thai, and good for you green (vegetarian).  Matt and I both had a hankerin’ for traditional Thai – he the shrimp pad thai, and I the chicken green curry.  We also shared an appetizer of chicken satay.  The satay was fine – not out of this world, but a tasty start.  I particularly enjoyed the dipping sauce it came with – a departure from the normal peanut and more of a sweet chili dip, YUM!  Matt’s pad thai was delicious – easily the best I’ve had in DC, although he said that next time he would order the chicken instead of the too-salty shrimp, and would request a bit of heat.  I think he was right on both observations, but it was tasty enough that I managed to stealthily snitch more my standard one-bite taste!  My green curry was accompanied by the prettiest bed of rice, which was both lovely to look at and a tasty upgrade from your standard sticky rice.  The curry itself was delicious – just the right amount of kick to it, although the wee eggplants were a bit too firm with too-tough skins for my liking.

Best For: Authentic and/or Vegetarian Dishes, Eating in the restaurant.

Worst For: Take out (only due to the longer walk from my flat and fab atmosphere that it would be a shame to miss out on)

Thai Tanic

In the absence of a neighborhood chipoltz, this has become my go-to once a week quick dinner (and next day lunch!).  It is what it is – unabashedly unpretentious and no ingenuity to speak of, but I have come to love it!

The setting:
The setting of the actual restaurant is the anti-dote to Rice: decidedly un-chic and even downright dodgy from the outside.  Indeed, as many times as I have eaten their food, I have never actually eaten in, preferring instead to enjoy my dinners down the block, chez-moi.

The service:
Can’t comment on eating in-house, but they always have my called in orders ready in 10-15 minutes and have never messed up an order.

The Food:
I alternate between the chicken green curry and the pad see ew, with occasional starters of steamed dumplings or spring rolls, although I’ve also tried their drunken noodles and pad thai. The portions are very generous and almost always serve as my lunch the next day.  Everything I order here I am pleased with – nothing is out of this world, but it is always super tasty.  A word of caution: requests for “a little bit spicy” result in a bit more heat than most Americans are accustomed to and require gobs of milk or beer to wash down the spicy-goodness.  Request heat with caution (or reckless abandon!)

Best For:
Take out, big portions, traditional cravings for your Thai stand-bys.
 
Worst For: atmosphere, menu creativity.