Rice (14th St)

Thaiphoon is a trendy hotspot in Dupont and Po Siam is a dump, hole-in-the-wall in Arlandria. Thaiphoon serves their Pad Thai on chic white plates while the drunken noodles at Po Siam have no real presentation to them at all. But if you switched the two dishes from each kitchen, patrons at either location wouldn't know the difference.

But at Rice -- which helped pave the 14th St renaissance that began in 2004 and is only now catching on -- is an entirely different Thai place. You cannot find Chicken with olives and basil anywhere else in this city (that I know of). And sometimes I crave that dish like until I can think of nothing else, to my own detriment because when I get there and finally order it, I forget to ask them to turn down the heat. Smallwerld<--not a fan of the uber spicy.

The restaurant has basically three menus in one. A "traditional" Thai menu... although everything on it seems to have its own special modification -- like the string beans served with the pik khing chicken; Rice specialties (like my chicken/basil/olives) that offer fusion thai or re-thought combinations of food using uniquely Thai ingredients; and a seasonal menu -- October has a lot of 'pumpkin' items. I can't tell you what was on the seasonal menu Friday when I went because I was too focused on my chicken/basil/olives that I didn't even open the menu.

The restaurant is small, sleek and minimalist. The art is on the plate, not on the walls. Like the artful way they deliver a side of rice with each dish... sometimes sweet, sometimes black, sometimes green, but always shaped and styled with care reflective of the restaurant’s name.

My only complaint? The teak chairs... I now selfishly take the booth seat if we get such a table because the chairs are simply awful. Hard. handcrafted and rustic/modern vibe? sure... but hard and uncomfortable. They do not inspire lingering. Perhaps this is a passive-aggressive way to turn tables.

The service is forgettable... which means not bad, but not out of the way. And don't leave without a lychee martini!

Mark's Duck House

On a nice Saturday afternoon, I went with Alyssa to Falls Church for a quick bite of Dim Sum at Mark's Duck House.  At one time, this place was rated in the top 100 Chinese restaurants in the US and the Washingtonian can't get enough of it.  It certainly lives up to the thought that the great places are the holes in the wall.  Hole is putting it nicely.  In a strip mall called Wilson Center is an uninviting facade with ducks hanging from the chop shop side of the restaurant.  The place is filled with Asians -- a good sign for any Asian restaurant.  We sat at a table for 2 in the back as the Dim Sum carts made their way around.  The movie Working Girl flashed in my mind.  I'm not really sure what anything we ate was called.  Many steamed dumplings with pork, shrimp etc. in them.  The one that I loved the flavor but couldn't eat a second one because of the mashed potato texture inside was the taro root crusted pork.  Flavors I'd just never had with a texture that made me gag a bit... You have to be a bit daring here, however,  I stayed away from the Chicken Feet. At $20 for two, it was certainly a bargain and an experience.