Thip Khao - Bangkok Golden's Seng Luangrath's Lao Cuisine In The Former Thai Tanic II Space in Columbia Heights

[Tweaked]

Washington City Paper with more details.  Opening "next year."

[Gadarene]

You had me really excited for a second. Next year is a year away.

[Cizuka Seki]

I AM INCREDIBLY EXCITED FOR THIS TO BE REAL

 

[DonRocks]

I do wonder, however, if this new "Bangkok Golden" is the same thing as Thip Khao which was reported on earlier this month, and I don't see how the answer can be anything else but "yes."

[Jimmy Chandler]

I do wonder, however, if this new "Bangkok Golden" is the same thing as Thip Khao which was reported on earlier this month, and I don't see how the answer can be anything else but "yes."

From Chef Seng's website:

Our new Laotian restaurant will be in DC and can hold more guests as well as have outdoor seating. The grand opening will also be an opportunity for patrons to see the new menu items, and taste more of my original creations.

There will be a soft opening prior to the grand opening for a limited number of guests. The restaurant will feature mostly Laotian Food at this event. We are working diligently to get everything in order and share the restaurant location and the grand opening date. Until then, we greatly appreciate your patience and your interest in our new restaurant.

[naxos]

Chef Seng was interviewed on WAMU metro connection yesterday .

While I am happy for her new venture, I fear that I will lose a great neighborhood restaurant. She can't cook in two places at once- unless her son will be joining the family business.

[cheezepowder]

I AM INCREDIBLY EXCITED FOR THIS TO BE REAL

I do wonder, however, if this new "Bangkok Golden" is the same thing as Thip Khao which was reported on earlier this month, and I don't see how the answer can be anything else but "yes."

Yes.  Chef Seng posted today that Thip Khao is opening at 3462 14th St NW -- the former Thaitanic II location mentioned in Cizuka Seki's link.

[Tweaked]

City Paper with an update and opening menu.  They are shooting for an early December opening. 

[Rhone1998]

City Paper with an update and opening menu. They are shooting for an early December opening.

They are soft opening starting this week (or maybe even last week) and if you follow her Twitter feed she's posted a couple of times about open tables for that night. We are going Friday night...can't wait!!

ETA: bleh, I should have read the article before posting.

[MSPB3434]

So will the new place have the double secret Lao menu?  If there's no grilled pork neck, what's the point?

[Fishinnards]

So will the new place have the double secret Lao menu?  If there's no grilled pork neck, what's the point?

It's on the menu. PING: Kaw Moo. Kaw moo is Thai/Lao for pork (moo) neck (kaw) even though the English says pork shoulder. Ping is Lao for grilled.

[cheezepowder]

Chef Seng tweeted that they've opened up the list for the soft opening this weekend.  Instructions here.

[Rhone1998]

Fantastic meal last night.  It looks like they purposefully kept the restaurant only about a third to a half full for the soft opening, With that caveat, though, it felt like things were operating on all cylinders.  Service was great, stuff came out promptly, and the staff were familiar with (and wildly enthusiastic about) all of the menu items.  Our food was wonderful, with many old standbys from BG -- Lao pork sausage, crispy rice salad, watercress salad, fish orm...plus a couple things I hadn't tried before, including a pork stew.  Flavors were intense and complex, though we all noted that from a pure heat perspective, things were toned down relative to what we'd become used to at BG.  Overall, though, the four of us walked away very, very happy and super excited to have Thip Khao in DC.  I think the six million dollar question now, though, is how Chef Seng is going to divide her time and attention across the two restaurants, and how good the rest of the kitchen staff beneath her is. 

[lhollers]

Fantastic meal last night.

Flavors were intense and complex, though we all noted that from a pure heat perspective, things were toned down relative to what we'd become used to at BG.

Went Wednesday night on behalf of Brightest Young Things and agree 100% with the above. Pics below - if you have any questions about specific dishes, please don't hesitate to ask. Highlights were the house-made pork sausage and the steamed fish - both incredible.

This place is going to be a huge hit. Less of a line than Little Serow (which I still prefer, as of now), will take reservations, very, very reasonable pricing, and incredibly authentic (thought not quite spicy enough quite yet) Lao cuisine. Chef Seng said she was looking for an early December opening.

Sai Oua - house-made pork sausage. Tremendously delicious. This will be an every-visit order for me.

Pak Nam - crispy watercress, mango, green apple, tamarind sauce, shrimp. Reminded me a lot of Rasika's Palak Chaat.

Laab Ped - duck larb. Should've ordered Lao spicy.

Ping Gai - grilled chicken. Great, crisp skin, moist throughout. Really hard not to order the pork neck, but our server said go with the chicken.

Moak Pah - steamed sea bass, chili paste, lemongrass, dill. Outstandingly good. Like, really, really tasty.

(not sure how to rotate the pictures - they show up right-side-up in my preview and on my computer, but turn on here - sorry about that)

[Tweaked]

Chef Luangrath featured in a City Paper Young & Hungry article

[cheezepowder]

They tweeted that they're opening on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014.

[sandynva]

We had some wonderful carry-out from here last night. the place is lovely, the servers really nice, and there werent many people there at 5:45 last night.

they packed up the dishes beautifully, artfully arranged with pretty garnishes. it was a nice touch.

I tried 3 dishes i'd ordered often at bangkok golden and some new ones.

the tofu larb was just like BG, but if anything, the crispy rice salad was better than the BG version, noticably more herbs and the portion was larger.

Tofu orm was tasty, but a bit different than the BG version, less dill and herbs and more tomatoesand eggplant.

The sakoo Yadsai were new to me. they are translucent balls of tapioca stuffed with peanuts and possibly coconut. the texture was great but i didn't taste much of the radish or cilantro, and they were much sweeter than expected. they were tasty, just not what i was expecting, which was more savory.

the soob pak is a large portion of mixed veg in a surprisingly spicy sauce. the sauce was red, and i'm not sure if it was from tomatoes or chili or both. even though i ordered mild-medium hot i could only take one bite of this, so i can't really comment on the taste.

mee kathi was delicious. they kindly packed the soup separate from the noodles, bean sprouts and cabbage and this was a very comforting tasty dish for a cold evening. it tasted almost like a mild red thai curry, but tastier than any red curry i've had recently. lovely coconut flavor. will definitely get this often this winter.

a great great meal with a ton of leftovers. i'm so happy this place opened!

[The Hersch]

We had some wonderful carry-out from here last night.

Were you able to order in advance by telephone or online, or did you show up and then order carry-out?

[sandynva]

i ordered ahead by telephone.

[Simul Parikh]

Is there long waits or reservations needed? I'm headed tonight and group got bigger than expected

[HarlanH]

Went to Thip Khao (on Christmas Eve, with Jewish friends) -- very impressed. There's both a slightly-Americanized menu, with dishes like papaya salad (extremely spicy!), the aforementioned pork sausage (very tasty), laab, fish and noodle dishes, etc., and also a "Jungle" menu (srsly?) with offal such as beef tongue (fantastic!), intestine, fish heads, and something called "pork blood tofu".

Someone organize a DR outing to this place. I want to go with some chileheads who know what they're ordering...

[DanielK]

Someone organize a DR outing to this place. I want to go with some chileheads who know what they're ordering...

I nominate ... you!

Seriously, all you have to do is talk to the restaurant, pick a date, post the details here, and keep track of responses. PM me or Rocks if you need guidance.

[Simul Parikh]

We were able to make a reservation for 730pm on Friday night. My favorite server from Bangkok Golden is now full time at the new restaurant in the front of the house, and I was so happy to see her. We had a group of 6, 3 adventurous eaters and 3 not so much. So, the 3 of us that were a little more at ease ordered mostly from the "jungle" menu. As said in another thread, this is pure Laotian, no Thai food, and it can certainly be daunting if you haven't had Laotian food before. It's in the heart of Columbia Heights, on 14th Street, so not by Meridian Pint or Kangaroo Boxing or Maple. Closer to Target. It was buzzing inside, almost every table full.

They start you off with cucumber, sticky rice, and a sauce that comes complimentary.

We started with Tam Muk Hoong Phet E'Loor - which is their famous and fiery papaya salad. It was great, just like BG, and they did not mess around with the chilis. Lots of fish sauce, limes, and heat.

We got the Som Pla, which was sort of like Laotian ceviche. It was tilapia that was raw but cured.

We also got the Poun Pla Heng, which was a snakehead fish larb. Snakehead is a little bland (to me), but this was pretty good.

The pork necks were a given, and they were as good as ever. They use a different sauce here than BG.

The Mee Kathi Luad came out, and it was the same as the mee kathi (rice noodle soup with a red curry base), but they added pork blood tofu. Sounds really strange, but other than the coloring of the tofu, it did not taste like anything different than tofu (said me and others at the table).

Finally, we added on a pork orm and that came out last. It's their take on curry. It's thinner than a Thai green/red curry, almost broth like. I think at BG, I remember it being thicker.

The food, when ordered spicy, it for real. I sweat through the top of my shirt. There is a nice cocktail menu (tropical-ish drinks) and some value wines (bottles in the $30 range mostly). 3 beers on draft, I think a Saison, an IPA, and Singha.

I loved this place, and am excited that it seems to be doing quite well. The pacing of the service wasn't great, so they have some kinks to work out. The food is excellent. The menu doesn't seem to be making any concessions to people that aren't very adventurous, even though some of the menu items (wings, pork egg rolls) would be fine for people that aren't interested in the more exotic options. I think Chef Seng should modify the menu in one way - not just describe the food (although it is described well), but also have a simple English translation next to the Lao name next to it, so that people just casually looking at menu/website will not be warded off. I think people (on forums like this) forget that some people just aren't used to this type of a menu. Our 3 less adventurous friends ate well, but likely would not have come here just looking at the menu.

Food was as good as BG or Little Serow, in my opinion, the decor is really cool (lots of SE Asia art/design). As of now, reservations/getting in are not hard, but I think it will become quite the hot spot.

EDIT: just saw above about other people not saying it was spicy. I think because I knew some of the staff and encouraged it to be Lao Hot, it was as spicy as BG.

[jca76]

Friends and I had no trouble getting a reservation for four at 8:00 p.m. last Friday, made a few days in advance.  It was so mobbed when I arrived -- and I overheard the hostess apologetically tell multiple people who had been waiting thirty minutes to an hour that it would be another thirty to forty-five minutes more -- that I worried that our reservation wasn't going to mean much.  Luckily, we were seated by about 8:15, almost immediately after the last of our party arrived.  That was the only smooth service interaction of the night.  

The food, like at Bangkok Golden, was excellent, but the service was comically bad.  We were seated for twenty-five minutes before we finally just flagged down a passing waiter to request water and order drinks and appetizers.  As it neared 9:00, one friend, frustrated with our empty water glasses, simply got up from our table, walked to the bar area, took one of the water pitchers, filled our glasses, and returned the pitcher.  No one on staff seemed to notice.

Like at Little Serow, the meal began with pork rinds (cucumber slices for the pescatarian bf and me), sticky rice, and a spicy sauce -- sort of like a spicy Asian BBQ sauce (not like LS's funky fish spreads).  It didn't hurt that I was pretty famished at this point, but I thought it was delicious.  I particularly liked the purple-tinted, black-rice-flecked sticky rice with it.  Unlike at Little Serow, no one seemed to notice when we'd run out of cucumber slices or sticky rice.  The vegetarian naem khao (crispy rice, coconut, lime, green onion, peanut, cilantro, lettuce wraps) was outstanding -- probably my favorite dish of the night.  Better than I remembered the crispy rice salad's being at BG.  Different sorts of crunch from the rice, peanuts, and lettuce, bright with acid and herbs.  Just fantastic.  The shrimp yor khao (summer roll with peanut sauce) were good, standard-seeming summer rolls, but the least interesting dish of the meal.  (The peanut sauce isn't the thick peanutty puree that I'd have expected, but rather a sweet clear sauce filled with peanut chunks.  A preferable pairing for the light rolls.)  Our tam muk hoong (green papaya, cherry tomato, lime, chilies, shrimp paste) was MIA.  

The wait between rounds was so long that the melting ice in my (delicious) Thai iced tea and the bf's pandan soy milk (a bright mint green color!) -- both ordered as a preemptive hedge to combat the spiciness -- created a visible watery layer on the surface of our drinks.  The waiter came by at some point (well after 9:30) to ask if we needed anything in a manner that suggested that he thought we'd already received everything that we'd ordered.  We said we'd like the rest of our food, including the papaya salad, and one friend ordered a second beer.  The waiter seemed surprised, was apologetic (as he was multiple times throughout the meal), and returned quickly to say that the kitchen was "just working on our order."  (Code for "I just put it in with a rush because a ticket got lost"?)  When it finally arrived, the salad was very, very good -- spicy without being overwhelming -- although I could have done without picking the squeezed lime wedges out of the salad.  (Dishes had a fair bit of heat, but nothing like what we'd experienced at BG (or LS, which I think has gotten less spicy than it was originally); our back-and-forth with the waiter on spice levels (and how it compared to BG) resulted in an appropriate translation of "medium, but, like, white-people medium.")  Both the papaya salad and the long-time-coming second beer didn't show up on our check, which was nice.

Recalling a lhollers's recommendation, I ordered the moak pah (steamed flounder wrapped in banana leaves, curry paste, dill); heavy on the dill, it was deliciously different from dishes Lao (or Thai) fish dishes that I've previously had.  Although we'd ordered the koi pla dib (rockfish ceviche), a shrimp ceviche arrived.  (Given the service snafus, we didn't bother to ask what happened with our rockfish and just dug in.)  No matter, as it was excellent -- the spiciest dish of the meal, but so fresh with apple matchsticks and lots of acid.  The tofu laab (minced salad, toasted rice, garlic, scallion, cilantro, mint) was another favorite.  Our friends liked the seafood orm (curry stew, Thai eggplant, dill) more than I did; I couldn't detect any eggplant, and while good, it wasn't as outstanding for me as other dishes.  (In another funny service moment, the bowls that we had requested to facilitate eating the soup finally arrived about two minutes after we all declared ourselves too stuffed to eat any more.)  We ordered three appetizers and four entrees among four of us; we could have probably done with one fewer entree quantity-wise, but our ordering left just enough to take home one leftovers lunch.  

It was 10:45 by the time we'd paid the (refreshingly small -- under $30/person pre-tip for a lot of food) bill.  The silver lining to the service issues is that they were the sort of bad (and the staff seemed so overwhelmed) that I'm willing to chalk it up to opening kinks.  The food was so good that we'll definitely be back . . . but probably not until they've had some more time to find their groove.

[Simul Parikh]

Oh, despite my glowing review of the food... I agree with above - the service wasn't good. I failed to mention that. Stuff come out very badly paced and somewhat random intervals. One person's entree came at least 30 minutes after everyone else's. Guess that was important information I omitted

[Mark Dedrick]

Didn't post on my meal here from late last year, but have to agree with the above posters. Food was fantastic, service was extremely spotty. 

[Marty L.]

Those service lapses might be simply a function of them being overwhelmed on a Friday night.  I've had no service issues at all in the few times I've been, but they've all been on weekdays, usually after 8:30.  Indeed, I've typically had all of the food on the table within 20 minutes of being seated--shockingly rapid.  The meal I had there last night was the best yet -- I've been surprised how consistent the kitchen has been in light of the volume, which is much higher than anything they had experienced at BG.

Friends and I had no trouble getting a reservation for four at 8:00 p.m. last Friday, made a few days in advance.  It was so mobbed when I arrived -- and I overheard the hostess apologetically tell multiple people who had been waiting thirty minutes to an hour that it would be another thirty to forty-five minutes more -- that I worried that our reservation wasn't going to mean much.  Luckily, we were seated by about 8:15, almost immediately after the last of our party arrived.  That was the only smooth service interaction of the night.  

The food, like at Bangkok Golden, was excellent, but the service was comically bad.  We were seated for twenty-five minutes before we finally just flagged down a passing waiter to request water and order drinks and appetizers.  As it neared 9:00, one friend, frustrated with our empty water glasses, simply got up from our table, walked to the bar area, took one of the water pitchers, filled our glasses, and returned the pitcher.  No one on staff seemed to notice.

Like at Little Serow, the meal began with pork rinds (cucumber slices for the pescatarian bf and me), sticky rice, and a spicy sauce -- sort of like a spicy Asian BBQ sauce (not like LS's funky fish spreads).  It didn't hurt that I was pretty famished at this point, but I thought it was delicious.  I particularly liked the purple-tinted, black-rice-flecked sticky rice with it.  Unlike at Little Serow, no one seemed to notice when we'd run out of cucumber slices or sticky rice.  The vegetarian naem khao (crispy rice, coconut, lime, green onion, peanut, cilantro, lettuce wraps) was outstanding -- probably my favorite dish of the night.  Better than I remembered the crispy rice salad's being at BG.  Different sorts of crunch from the rice, peanuts, and lettuce, bright with acid and herbs.  Just fantastic.  The shrimp yor khao (summer roll with peanut sauce) were good, standard-seeming summer rolls, but the least interesting dish of the meal.  (The peanut sauce isn't the thick peanutty puree that I'd have expected, but rather a sweet clear sauce filled with peanut chunks.  A preferable pairing for the light rolls.)  Our tam muk hoong (green papaya, cherry tomato, lime, chilies, shrimp paste) was MIA.  

The wait between rounds was so long that the melting ice in my (delicious) Thai iced tea and the bf's pandan soy milk (a bright mint green color!) -- both ordered as a preemptive hedge to combat the spiciness -- created a visible watery layer on the surface of our drinks.  The waiter came by at some point (well after 9:30) to ask if we needed anything in a manner that suggested that he thought we'd already received everything that we'd ordered.  We said we'd like the rest of our food, including the papaya salad, and one friend ordered a second beer.  The waiter seemed surprised, was apologetic (as he was multiple times throughout the meal), and returned quickly to say that the kitchen was "just working on our order."  (Code for "I just put it in with a rush because a ticket got lost"?)  When it finally arrived, the salad was very, very good -- spicy without being overwhelming -- although I could have done without picking the squeezed lime wedges out of the salad.  (Dishes had a fair bit of heat, but nothing like what we'd experienced at BG (or LS, which I think has gotten less spicy than it was originally); our back-and-forth with the waiter on spice levels (and how it compared to BG) resulted in an appropriate translation of "medium, but, like, white-people medium.")  Both the papaya salad and the long-time-coming second beer didn't show up on our check, which was nice.

Recalling a lhollers's recommendation, I ordered the moak pah (steamed flounder wrapped in banana leaves, curry paste, dill); heavy on the dill, it was deliciously different from dishes Lao (or Thai) fish dishes that I've previously had.  Although we'd ordered the koi pla dib (rockfish ceviche), a shrimp ceviche arrived.  (Given the service snafus, we didn't bother to ask what happened with our rockfish and just dug in.)  No matter, as it was excellent -- the spiciest dish of the meal, but so fresh with apple matchsticks and lots of acid.  The tofu laab (minced salad, toasted rice, garlic, scallion, cilantro, mint) was another favorite.  Our friends liked the seafood orm (curry stew, Thai eggplant, dill) more than I did; I couldn't detect any eggplant, and while good, it wasn't as outstanding for me as other dishes.  (In another funny service moment, the bowls that we had requested to facilitate eating the soup finally arrived about two minutes after we all declared ourselves too stuffed to eat any more.)  We ordered three appetizers and four entrees among four of us; we could have probably done with one fewer entree quantity-wise, but our ordering left just enough to take home one leftovers lunch.  

It was 10:45 by the time we'd paid the (refreshingly small -- under $30/person pre-tip for a lot of food) bill.  The silver lining to the service issues is that they were the sort of bad (and the staff seemed so overwhelmed) that I'm willing to chalk it up to opening kinks.  The food was so good that we'll definitely be back . . . but probably not until they've had some more time to find their groove.

[jca76]

Those service lapses might be simply a function of them being overwhelmed on a Friday night.  I've had no service issues at all in the few times I've been, but they've all been on weekdays, usually after 8:30.  Indeed, I've typically had all of the food on the table within 20 minutes of being seated--shockingly rapid.  The meal I had there last night was the best yet -- I've been surprised how consistent the kitchen has been in light of the volume, which is much higher than anything they had experienced at BG.

I hope that's what it was; the place was completely packed when we arrived (although the crowd had thinned considerably by the end of the meal).  The food was excellent, and it's great that DC diners are already flocking there.  I'm rooting for them to smooth out the service wrinkles!

[Simul Parikh]

Anyone go recently and see if they tightened up service?

They have some interesting new stuff on jungle menu. Sounds offal!

LAAB MOO KUANG NAI (G) Chopped pork, pork skin and liver, chili lime sauce, toasted rice powder, scallion, mint. 12

OOB BAE (G) Goat stew, Lao herbs. 15

CHUENH SAI (G)Crispy fried intestine with Sriracha sauce. 13

YUM HOO MOO (G) Steamed pig's ear, cellophane noodle, spicy tamarind sauce, cashew nut. 13

PING HUA JAI KAI (G) Grilled chicken heart, sweet Sriracha sauce. 13

LAAB KAI TOK (G) Minced skin of Guinea fowl, chicken liver & heart, banana blossom, toasted rice powder, chili lime sauce, mint, cilantro, scallion. 18

[darkstar965]

Anyone go recently and see if they tightened up service?

They have some interesting new stuff on jungle menu. Sounds offal!

LAAB MOO KUANG NAI (G) Chopped pork, pork skin and liver, chili lime sauce, toasted rice powder, scallion, mint. 12

OOB BAE (G) Goat stew, Lao herbs. 15

CHUENH SAI (G)Crispy fried intestine with Sriracha sauce. 13

YUM HOO MOO (G) Steamed pig's ear, cellophane noodle, spicy tamarind sauce, cashew nut. 13

PING HUA JAI KAI (G) Grilled chicken heart, sweet Sriracha sauce. 13

LAAB KAI TOK (G) Minced skin of Guinea fowl, chicken liver & heart, banana blossom, toasted rice powder, chili lime sauce, mint, cilantro, scallion. 18

Maybe there was a typo and Daniel Singhofen is actually here rather than Macon Bistro? Reads like a Thai version of an Eola menu. ;-)

[eatruneat]

Anyone go recently and see if they tightened up service?

They have some interesting new stuff on jungle menu. Sounds offal!

LAAB MOO KUANG NAI (G) Chopped pork, pork skin and liver, chili lime sauce, toasted rice powder, scallion, mint. 12

OOB BAE (G) Goat stew, Lao herbs. 15

CHUENH SAI (G)Crispy fried intestine with Sriracha sauce. 13

YUM HOO MOO (G) Steamed pig's ear, cellophane noodle, spicy tamarind sauce, cashew nut. 13

PING HUA JAI KAI (G) Grilled chicken heart, sweet Sriracha sauce. 13

LAAB KAI TOK (G) Minced skin of Guinea fowl, chicken liver & heart, banana blossom, toasted rice powder, chili lime sauce, mint, cilantro, scallion. 18

I went about three weeks ago on a Monday evening. The restaurant was about half full at 7:30pm. Service was speedy. Perhaps a little too speedy because there was a point when everything we had ordered was on the table and did not fit. It was awkward. The grilled chicken heart from the jungle menu was very tasty.

[Lori Gardner]

I was here for Valentine's Day dinner. The weather obviously affected some people's plans, so the restaurant was not full.  We had no service issues.

I also ordered grilled chicken hearts, and agree they were quite good (and appropriate for Valentine's Day).  I enjoyed every dish we ordered, and cannot wait to return.  I need to go back, however, with meat-eaters who aren't afraid of spice.  Our party of four included someone who is spice-intolerant, and so we didn't get the full-on flavors.

[Rhone1998]

Man I wish I was as good a writer as Todd Kliman.

[Mark Dedrick]

Man I wish I was as good a writer as Todd Kliman.

He's an incredible writer. Maybe the best writer of any food critic I've read.

[sandynva]

I thought the paragraph below was pretty interesting. what do other people think of it? Also, what did people think of Sietsema's review? i frankly was dissapointed, I think the place deserves higher than 2 stars.

This next generation has undeniably produced better, more exciting food than its predecessors, but an air of self-congratulation, of Westerners taking a humble cuisine and upgrading it, lingers. Contrary to the breathless blog posts, the ethno-culinarians haven't invented a new form; they've taken an old form and reconceived it for the masses, serving mysterious and spicy dishes in low-affect settings where, in the case of Little Serow, you can nod along to twangy roots music as young servers in hipster glasses talk about how awesome the larb is. The Thai joint down the street also makes a pretty mean larb, but you don't get the retro-cool music and no one waits an hour to get in.

[DonRocks]

I thought the paragraph below was pretty interesting. what do other people think of it? Also, what did people think of Sietsema's review? i frankly was dissapointed, I think the place deserves higher than 2 stars.

This next generation has undeniably produced better, more exciting food than its predecessors, but an air of self-congratulation, of Westerners taking a humble cuisine and upgrading it, lingers. Contrary to the breathless blog posts, the ethno-culinarians haven't invented a new form; they've taken an old form and reconceived it for the masses, serving mysterious and spicy dishes in low-affect settings where, in the case of Little Serow, you can nod along to twangy roots music as young servers in hipster glasses talk about how awesome the larb is. The Thai joint down the street also makes a pretty mean larb, but you don't get the retro-cool music and no one waits an hour to get in.

I assume this is Todd? Yes, he is an outstanding writer. Maybe too good.

Part of me wants to laud him for writing this City Paper-type, grass-roots, anti-establishment prose for Washingtonian.

Part of me wants to ask, "How many times have you been to Laos, and are you aware you write for Washingtonian?"

But I think he's got a very good point here. This type of writing is his strength - he likes gutsy ethnic food, and I suspect if he had his way, he'd travel the world to non-European countries and write about it - that's just an extrapolation from what he writes; I don't know this for a fact.

[brian]

I thought the paragraph below was pretty interesting. what do other people think of it? Also, what did people think of Sietsema's review? i frankly was dissapointed, I think the place deserves higher than 2 stars.

This next generation has undeniably produced better, more exciting food than its predecessors, but an air of self-congratulation, of Westerners taking a humble cuisine and upgrading it, lingers. Contrary to the breathless blog posts, the ethno-culinarians haven't invented a new form; they've taken an old form and reconceived it for the masses, serving mysterious and spicy dishes in low-affect settings where, in the case of Little Serow, you can nod along to twangy roots music as young servers in hipster glasses talk about how awesome the larb is. The Thai joint down the street also makes a pretty mean larb, but you don't get the retro-cool music and no one waits an hour to get in.

I think the reality of what's happening is much more interesting than the classic upscaling and westernization of dishes. In many ways, the new wave of southeast asian restaurants with stonger flavors in urban markets - Pok Pok, Pig & Khao, little serow, Night + Market, etc. - have opened new doors for operators who otherwise might have opened more americanized restaurants. Soi 38 wouldn't serve the food it does if little serow hadn't demonstrated a market demand for it. And there certainly is an hour wait for dinner at Thip Khao, and my guess is that it's mostly people who had been trekking out to Bangkok Golden a couple times a year but will be at Thip Khao monthly.

As far as "upgrading" a humble cuisine "for the masses", again it's more complicated. There's whole lobster lobster pad thai on the menu at Mango Tree, a Bangkok-based chain, but no foie gras bla rah at little serow. I can take my mom to dinner at Thai Taste by Kob or Bangkok Golden where she can get an "upgrade" to salmon and mild spicing, but not little serow where she'll only have the option of spicy snakehead.

Thankfully, the bottom line is that we're getting better food that more closely reflects regional cuisine from a bunch of different operators, and I can't think of a downside to that as long as the rising tide lifts all boat noodles.

[darkstar965]

I assume this is Todd? Yes, he is an outstanding writer. Maybe too good.

Part of me wants to laud him for writing this City Paper-type, grass-roots, anti-establishment prose for Washingtonian.

Part of me wants to ask, "How many times have you been to Laos, and are you aware you write for Washingtonian?"

But I think he's got a very good point here. This type of writing is his strength - he likes gutsy ethnic food, and I suspect if he had his way, he'd travel the world to non-European countries and write about it - that's just an extrapolation from what he writes; I don't know this for a fact.

You know?  I agree the Thip Khao review is very well written.  And that Kliman is an excellent writer. And, I love that the Thip Khao review espouses a strong point of view, Washingtonian or not.  But, sometimes I don't get TK.

Joel from Qualia is generously doing a chat with us currently and just posted a link to a recent TK article on coffee which I had read and though absolutely batty.  Why would a critic dismiss an entire industry sector, seemingly with deep and broad ignorance?  Maybe to get clicks given the predictable outrage in the comments?

[ktmoomau]

In case anyone is in love with the Sour Soup (I haven't been here yet, but saw this on twitter and thought someone here might like it) here is a recipe.

[MichaelBDC]

Tentacles.  Grilled baby octopus tentacles.  That's all I really wanted.  Eatruneat and I had both had stressful days so we decided to meet at the bar of Thip Khao, to enjoy a cocktail and each other's company prior to our reservation.  The drink snob in me decided to order their finest Old Overholt and whatever Lao beer that was on sale during happy hour while I waited for Eatruneat to join me at the bar.  Looking over the bar menu I noticed that they had grilled octopus tentacles on special for happy hour.  Aside from the face meat, which is still my favorite, octopus tentacles come in a close second.  Properly prepared they can be wonderful and I was eager to see how well they were prepared at Thip Khao.  Eatruneat joined me not much later and I enthusiastically pointed out the tentacles on the menu.  We had a few drinks and noticed that we were not only getting close to our reservation time, but the end of happy hour as well.  I asked the bartender, Matt, if I would be able to order the tentacles at the table or if should order them now and just take them to the table with me.  He assured me that while not on the dinner menu that I could order them at the table but would have to pay a couple of bucks more for them since happy hour would be over.  I was fine with paying a little more as I really wanted to try them and didn't want to rush on my drink.

We were seated at our table and when asked if there was anything we'd like to start with I replied that I would like the octopus tentacles.  The waitress said that they were not served at the table.  I informed her that I'd be willing to pay a couple of extra bucks and asked if she would check with the manager to see if that would be okay.  She checked with the manager and said that it would not be okay because it was after happy hour.  Uh, is this the Laotian version of Cinderella where all of the octopuses turn into pumpkins after happy hour?  I decided to not call out Matt because I didn't want to get him in any trouble and for all he knew they've done it in the past.  Maybe the manager on duty didn't want to set a precedent or maybe she was just having a bad day.  Regardless, I just sucked it up and ordered something else.

The rest of the meal was great and Eatruneat and I enjoyed pretty much everything we had.  My night could not be complete though without those damn tentacles.  Now I know better and will return for a complete evening.

[Bart]

That's a bummer and seems like such an easy thing to do to make a customer happy. It reminds me of the exact opposite experience (and conversation) my wife and I had as Raskia West End last night.

I don't even remember the question(!), but we asked our waiter something and his answer was basically, "Sure, we can do that. We can do whatever you want". As he walked away I said to my wife, "That's the perfect and answer and it should be the answer to any question that's asked*". Then we talked about how it reminded us a the Graffiato tasting menu we had a few years back. Their policy is basically, "anything you want or don't want on the menu, you can have (or not have)".

You want two pizzas and no pasta?   Sure, we can do that.   You want no pizzas and no fish?  Sure, we can do that.  You definitely want the Brussels sprouts, and definitely don't want the octopus?  Sure, we can do that.  Etc, etc.

The memories of the service and attitude of both those places will probably stick with me much longer than the memories of the food. 

* Within reason of course.  You can't expect a sushi bar to cook you a pizza!

[cheezepowder]

Closed July 4 and new Jungle menu on July 5 with invasive fish snakehead and blue catfish.

[Rhone1998]

Closed July 4 and new Jungle menu on July 5 with invasive fish snakehead and blue catfish.

We got takeout from Thip Khao tonight.  Snakehead laab is already on the menu, didn't see any blue catfish yet.

[Marty L.]

Went last night.  The five or six snakehead and blue catfish dishes on Chef Seng's instagram post were already available -- touted as an effort to help preserve the ecosystem by reducing their population!  They're a bit pricey, though, so I didn't try them.

I was able to order the octopus dish at a regular table, and not at happy hour.  It's a *humungous* portion of octopus (overwhelmingly not tentacles) in an interesting, hard-to-place, sweetish red sauce, for $8.  Very good; but fairly chewy, and not something I'll order again unless I'm with a group that wants to share it.  Everything else was fantastic as usual.

[magnadoodle]

Dropped in for dinner on Wed. Had some drinks at the bar around 6:30p and the place was about 1/3 full. As 7pm approached, the place quickly filled to capacity and people had to put their name down for a table. At the bar we had a Lao Spicy Nut which were fried peanuts tossed in kafir lime leaves, dried chili. These definitely paired well with the beer and had just enough chili to leave the lips a little bit tingly. They had another bar appetizer special that day which was fried pig's ear. The pig's ear were sliced like french fries and deep fried. This was served with a spicy sriracha-like sauce. The ears were slightly chewy on the outside with a crunchy inside from the cartilage. This is a definite must try if they have it on the menu again.

 

After we got tables, we ordered a green papaya salad as a starter (Tam muk hoong). It was good, but not as memorable as the other menu items. The duck laab was done very well and had a generous amount of duck. For the "adventurous" part of the menu, we opted for the grilled beef tongue (Ping lean). It was very similar to beef tongue you get at a Japanese yakitori izakaya. It had a nice char and the chili lime sauce that was paired with the tongue was what made the dish stand out. Finally, we got a Lao herbal curry (Awk). It had eggplant, mustard leaves, mushrooms, green beans, kabocha squash, and a healthy amount of dill. The flavor profile of the curry was my favorite part of the dinner. A great balance of savory, sour, salt, and sweet (from the kabocha?).  It is very hard to describe with all the flavors that were happening in my mouth. All in all, I would definitely make the trek to Columbia Heights for Laotian cuisine again. As packed as it was for a rainy Wed. night, I cannot imagine how full this place must get on a weekend.

[Josh]

Thip Khao has become my favorite brunch in the area.  They serve the full dinner & "jungle" menu as well as various brunch specials (which are always interesting, and not at all "brunchy").  We've been twice, and it's been pretty empty both times, so if you want to check it out without a wait, brunch is the way to go.

[Tweaked]

From a secret menu at a strip mall Thai restaurant in Virginia to Bon Appetit 50 Best New Restaurants.  Not bad chef, not bad at all.  

[DonRocks]

From a secret menu at a strip mall Thai restaurant in Virginia to Bon Appetit 50 Best New Restaurants.  Not bad chef, not bad at all.  

Sometimes, I even make myself groan.

[Waitman]

You know, as much as I wanted to love that place, the night a gang of us went there, few came away particular impressed.  Not that it was bad, mind you, just that is was unexceptional.

Oh well, always good to see a local place make good.

[Simul Parikh]

Not a full review, but went with my from out of town date. She had been to Laos before and I had really hyped up the place.

The only thing I want to mention is that we got the papaya salad from the jungle menu, and instead of the mouth burning, esophagitis inducing, scalp sweating that I'm used to, we received a dumbed down version. She didn't even touch her glass of water until we got to the next course. Wonder if this is a one off...

S

[Pat]

Went here for dinner with a couple of friends.  We were a bit late for our reservation but were able to get a table outside.  Fortunately, the rain held off.  We did not request any particular level of heat and the food was not very hot.  The only thing we got from the Jungle menu was the fried pig ear, which was crispy and good. Even the person averse to eating pig's ear ate some.

Other items ordered:  crispy rice salad, pork laab, grilled pork neck, kua mee (fried rice noodle with chicken), and pak nam (crispy watercress with shrimp, etc.).

I think I liked the grilled pork neck and watercress the most.  I was a little disappointed there wasn't more heat.  I could've handled some but wasn't challenged.

We were busy with our conversation and had a good meal, but I think I was expecting more.  They're not responsible for my expectations, though.  The place was packed.

[cheezepowder]

Will be closed Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 for renovations.

[Simul Parikh]

This place continues to make no concessions to nervous nellie eaters! On the menu last night was more organ meat, alligator laab, fried duck heads. The one new thing I had was a snake head fish with smoked eggplant in a herbal, thin brown sauce, lemongrass-y, and delicious. There was a noodle dish with pork belly on the happy hour menu with dried shrimp and chili paste that basically tasted like papaya salad, but with noodles instead of papaya. It was awesome, but ridiculously spicy, and I couldn't eat too much of it. But, they warned us ...

I have not eaten at a table in a while, because the first two times I came it was a total cluster, everything shows up at once, or gets delayed, or comes in some strange order. I WANT MY PORK NECKS BEFORE THE ENTREE, BRO!! I've mitigated this by just eating at the bar, and it works a lot better. The bartenders are better able to pace things out, and not constantly asking what you want. The happy hour includes $5 Old Fashioned, and Jack does a great job with them, at least from what I noted (my date had 2 and really liked it). He has a PhD in Art History from Columbia, so if you want to learn something about art, he's your man. The Beer Lao is $3 at happy hour. They also have a version infused liquors, he called it "Southeast Asian Amaro" at the top of the bar. Didn't try, but I would like to next time.

The place was ridiculously busy last night. Packed from 545p til after 830, pretty much every bar seat and table. It seems to be beloved. Good for Chef Seng!

[DonRocks]

On the menu last night was more organ meat, alligator laab

Could Thip Khao be the only restaurant outside of Southeast Asia (I almost want to say "outside of Thailand and Laos") that serves alligator laab?

What kind of dish is this?! Goodness, I'm sure looking forward to trying it - specials or regular menu?

[Marty L.]

The happy hour at TK might be the best deal in town just now.

This place continues to make no concessions to nervous nellie eaters! On the menu last night was more organ meat, alligator laab, fried duck heads. The one new thing I had was a snake head fish with smoked eggplant in a herbal, thin brown sauce, lemongrass-y, and delicious. There was a noodle dish with pork belly on the happy hour menu with dried shrimp and chili paste that basically tasted like papaya salad, but with noodles instead of papaya. It was awesome, but ridiculously spicy, and I couldn't eat too much of it. But, they warned us ...

I have not eaten at a table in a while, because the first two times I came it was a total cluster, everything shows up at once, or gets delayed, or comes in some strange order. I WANT MY PORK NECKS BEFORE THE ENTREE, BRO!! I've mitigated this by just eating at the bar, and it works a lot better. The bartenders are better able to pace things out, and not constantly asking what you want. The happy hour includes $5 Old Fashioned, and Jack does a great job with them, at least from what I noted (my date had 2 and really liked it). He has a PhD in Art History from Columbia, so if you want to learn something about art, he's your man. The Beer Lao is $3 at happy hour. They also have a version infused liquors, he called it "Southeast Asian Amaro" at the top of the bar. Didn't try, but I would like to next time.

The place was ridiculously busy last night. Packed from 545p til after 830, pretty much every bar seat and table. It seems to be beloved. Good for Chef Seng!

[Gadarene]

This place is incredible.

[Antonio Burrell]

This place is incredible.

I totally agree. It is my favorite restaurant of late. I order mostly from the jungle menu for take out and have never been disappointed. The fried intestines are ridiculous :-)

[Josh]

I'm surprised that no one seems to know that Thip Khao serves their standard menu at brunch on Sundays.  We went for I think our 4th visit today.  While it was just a bit busier than other times, there were still empty tables throughout.  The alligator laab was fantastic, and could easily be served to any squeamish person as long as you didn't tell them what it was.  I've had some bad alligator experiences (culinary and otherwise) having grown up in Southeast Texas, but this was well prepared, not chewy or greasy in the least.  Of course we had our standard crispy rice salad (I love the addition of the steamed pig ears), as well as catfish mok, and a boneless, fried chicken leg stuffed with mushrooms and water chestnuts.  This last one was new to me, and was a hit.  On it's own it was fine, but combined with the accompanying sweet chili sauce, a winner.

Next time (which will likely be next Sunday), we'll go for the beef tartare/tripe laab.  Anyone have that yet?

[Antonio Burrell]

Next time (which will likely be next Sunday), we'll go for the beef tartare/tripe laab.  Anyone have that yet?

I've had both versions, with the bitter sauce and the spicy version. I prefered the spicy version by far. It's a great rendition of tartare, very refreshing. Just with big pieces of tripe chopped in. The tripe is well cleaned and has no off putting flavors.

[Josh]

Back again today for what has become our Sunday ritual.  We steered clear of our standard orders today (laab, crispy rice salad, grilled pork, moak fish) and were rewarded.

We started with the sausage platter with grilled sticky rice.  Same great sausage as the standard appetizer, though maybe a bit larger portion. The grilled sticky rice was ok, but I wouldn't pay the upcharge for the "platter" next time.  We ordered the tapioca dumplings vegan style, since our son loves the version from Baan Thai.  These were essentially the same, and I can't say one is definitively better than the other.  Chewy/gooey, filled with a sweetish mix of chopped nuts.  I like that Baan Thai serves theirs with tiny (like really tiny) Thai chilis to break up the sweetness.

Next up, a round of 3 dishes: raw shrimp marinated in a spicy fish sauce, fermented dorade with mushrooms and peppers, and the crispy watercress salad.  We unwittingly stumbled into a very well-balanced meal flavor-wose, with the acidity of the shrimp and the sweetness of the salad balancing the umami bomb of the fish.  I only wish we had ordered something with more heat to add that note to the meal (the lao papaya salad with shrimp paste would serve well here).

We finished with sweet avocado rice...a nice diversion from the standard mango and sticky rice.

See you next week.

[Josh]

I've had both versions, with the bitter sauce and the spicy version. I prefered the spicy version by far. It's a great rendition of tartare, very refreshing. Just with big pieces of tripe chopped in. The tripe is well cleaned and has no off putting flavors.

We had a version of this today, confusingly served with a "spicy bitter sauce."  Definitely not a tartare, as the beef was cooked, though still with the delicious tripe throughout.  Even though it differed from your description, it was an enjoyable dish, though maybe not my favorite of the laab offerings (which would be either the duck or fish).

The Lao papaya salad (from the Jungle menu) was delicious and spicy enough to qualify as a religious experience.  I love that dish.

The gaeng phet rockfish (red curry) off the "Invasive Species" menu was rich and satisfying, rife with chunks of deliciously smoky eggplant.

We're slowly making our way through the entire menu, but does anyone have any personal favorites that haven't been discussed yet?

[Deborah Lee]

On April 30, 2016, my last visit to Thip Khao, I enjoyed tasting two dishes (LAAB PAH and PAA KAW TOD) on the Invasive Snakehead Menu now being offered.  I highly recommend!

Here is a link to the Invasive Snakehead Menu.

 

[Marty L.]

Is it possible that Thip Khao has gotten even better as it's had to expand to serve the larger crowds?  Chef Seng and son Bobby hitting on all cylinders.  This is a great summer dish (purple rice, lemongrass, galangal, dried shrimp, toasted coconut, shallot, green mango, long bean, ginger leaves, peanut, mung bean, lime zest, chilies, tamarind sauce); I wish it were on the permanent menu--could eat it every day.  And Bobby's new dessert, with peaches and coconut, is delicious.

[DonRocks]

1 hour ago, Marty L. said:

Is it possible that Thip Khao has gotten even better as it's had to expand to serve the larger crowds? 

No! God dammit! You can't get better with expansion! It doesn't happen! NO!!!

Any investors out there looking to diversify their portfolios with part of a website?

Well at least I acknowledge there are issues.

[Marty L.]

Well, it's "expansion" only in the sense that I think Chef Seng has had to hire more employees, in the kitchen and out, to handle the larger crowds.  And I wasn't suggesting that it's improved because of this "expansion," but in spite of it.  That's because she and Bobby really care about what they're putting on the table.  Perhaps it's too good to be true -- I can't even be sure there aren't lapses and inconsistencies (which wouldn't surprise me).  But the dinner I had this week was as good as any I can recall.  (I sat at the bar.  It also helps that Tim and the other bartender (whose name I forget) are so good at what they do, despite the fact that they're working like whirling dervishes.)

[DonRocks]

39 minutes ago, Marty L. said:

 It also helps that Tim and the other bartender (whose name I forget) are so good at what they do, despite the fact that they're working like whirling dervishes.)

It's the Dhikr they employ.

Who's going to get me first, the NRA or ISIS?

[Rhone1998]

19 hours ago, Marty L. said:

Well, it's "expansion" only in the sense that I think Chef Seng has had to hire more employees, in the kitchen and out, to handle the larger crowds.  And I wasn't suggesting that it's improved because of this "expansion," but in spite of it.  That's because she and Bobby really care about what they're putting on the table.  Perhaps it's too good to be true -- I can't even be sure there aren't lapses and inconsistencies (which wouldn't surprise me).  But the dinner I had this week was as good as any I can recall.  (I sat at the bar.  It also helps that Tim and the other bartender (whose name I forget) are so good at what they do, despite the fact that they're working like whirling dervishes.)

One observation I've made recently is that they have been very good even when the chef is traveling (which she has been doing quite a lot this summer, and which she documents extensively on her Twitter feed.)  Speaks to the time and energy she must spend finding and training good people.  

[curiouskitkatt]

On 7/10/2014 at 2:33 PM, Tweaked said:

Washington City Paper with more details.  Opening "next year."

eek. food good. service bad. 

[jasonc]

1 hour ago, kitkatpaddywak said:

eek. food good. service bad. 

care to elaborate?

[curiouskitkatt]

That was my response to reading the first iniatial reviews of Thip Kao. I need to read through the entire thread. That was my first impression. I take into consideration the reviews listed, but am rarely swayed my opinion for the worse. If anything a bad review will have an opposite effect in my choosing to go there. 

Thank you for the rebuttal. I miss this about Donrockwell.com. 

-kat

[funkyfood]

Had a no bueno meal here last night.  Walked in with my friend at 7:30ish to a surprisingly long wait--45 minutes.  No big deal; we went to get a drink at the Airedaile.  50 minutes later, we went back to Thip Khao and asked for an update. They said 20 more minutes to which we replied "you said 45 minutes 50 minutes ago--will it really be 20 minutes?".  The hostess rudely said "I told you 45 minutes to an hour" (she didn't).  NOTE: There was a large party for a 10-person table that seemed to be running quite late, so this wasn't her fault entirely, but she wasn't exactly pleasant about it.

Nonplussed, we waited a bit before seeing the mini-table next to the bar open and deciding to sit there.  The staff cleaned off the table with some strong ammonia and mildewy-smelling towels, a smell which faded with time but was unpleasant to start.  While we waited 10+ minutes for our waiter (the bartender) to greet us, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands, only to find the sink clogged and filled with dirty water, preventing me from washing my hands without dipping into it.  No thanks.

When our waiter came, we each ordered three dishes.  He didn't bother writing down our order, a move that annoys me and most diners I think.  At the end of my order he asked which of the soups I ordered and I reminded him.  Three minutes later he came by to ask the same question.  When the food started coming out, they first brought out 4/6 dishes, one of which was incorrect (the waiter later admitted to inputting the wrong dish).  The fifth dish came not too long after that, but the last dish came only after we asked a staff member to check on it.  We had to ask the hostess for silverware to eat with.  

The food itself was good.  My friend got some beef slices that were not as chewy as some places (a good thing) and some delicious fried rice with sausage.  He's a pepperhead, so he got the spicy papaya salad, which we both agreed was just too spicy for its own good.  I cannot imagine anyone enjoying that dish other than to prove that they are a tough guy.  My less-spicy version of the same salad was good, but both portions were maybe too big (not the worst problem to have).  I also had a delicious coconut soup with catfish and some pretty flavorful shrimp.   I originally got white rice with my meal instead of sticky rice, which I received upon request. I thought it came with everything?

On the way out, the hostess cheerfully told us "See you soon!", to which my friend muttered under his breath "No you won't."

 

[Tweaked]

An enjoyable meal at Thip Khao Saturday night with some Lao first timers.

We arrived a little before 7:00pm and put our name in and they said it would be about an hour.  We ended up going to El Tio Tex-Mex Grill and split a pitcher of margaritas and some chips and salsa...El Tio is kinda Tex-Mex meets sports bar.  Unless you wander over to 11th Street, the bar options in CH are pretty poor.  

Just before 8pm, we decided to wander back to Thip Khao to see how things were progressing and as we were settling up the tab they texted us to say our table was ready.  

We are primarily veg/pescetarian, which limits the menu some what, esp. the Jungle Menu.  We went with the Blue Catfish Laab, Yellow Curry Potato Puff, Knap Paa with Salmon, Kua Mee with fried tofu, and Pon Paa (off the Jungle Menu).  We asked for everything to be medium spice level and really the only dish that had a little kick to it was the Laab.  We all could have tolerated a couple more degrees.   

Probably my favorite dish of the night was the Knap Paa - Salmon grilled inside a banana leaf.  Really tasty and moist.  The Kua Mee was very much like a Pad Thai, the fish sauce caramel made it sweet, but not in a bad way, but I thought it could have been a little more funky.  The Pon Paa, charred eggplant stew, was very flavorful, but very liquidy, I guess I was expecting more chunks of eggplant, tasty but I probably would try something else before ordering it again.

Both the House Lao Beer, a classic Asian light beer, and the Beer Lao Dark, an amber, are pretty weak...but only $5.  

Everyone enjoyed the meal and is eager to go back.       

[Ericandblueboy]

Wait, you're shitting on Lao beer? I thought they're pretty good when there's a fire in your mouth.  So blame yourselves for being pussies 

[DaRiv18]

A couple years ago, a chef shared a conversation with me that he had had with another chef, the gist of which was this:  we are all doing pretty much the same thing.  Since then, not consciously though, I have slowly been less enthusiastic about trying new venues.  It's hard to convince me to check out a new $30/entree place, because generally it really isn't that interesting.  And you can only do so many tasting menus.  So, I now have my core favorites, maybe 4 or 5, that we visit 80-90% of the time.  And really, the only time I change places is if I am following a bartender or chef that I already know there.  

Thip Khao is one of those places where I eat less than I should, because it is always very very good, and has some personality to it.  My spouse met up there with her friends, and 10 minutes before their kitchen closed, she accommodated my request for take-out.  The catfish red curry was excellent and traveled well, and I wish this place was an UberEATS option or whatever instead of Mr. Chen's Organic or whatever else drivel is out there.  

[Marty L.]

3 hours ago, Gadarene said:

This probably belongs in the Little Serow thread, but I impressed some folks from Isaan greatly while in Thailand by reading them Little Serow's menu, because it has dishes that they did not think were served anywhere in America.  Now I'm just waiting for Little Serow to do a spicy ant egg salad, so I can compare it to the amazing one I had at an Isaan restaurant in Bangkok.  I'm not holding my breath.  😀

Chef Seng has occasionally made a spicy ant egg salad at Thip Khao, and it's delicious.

[sandynva]

i love this place but was disappointed by my carry out last night. We had tofu laab and the crispy rice--both of which we've had literally dozens of times--and they were both off. the portions and presentation were good but it was like someone had left off half the seasoning. i added salt and was tempted to add lemon and cilantro from my fridge (i didn't, but just because i was feeling lazy). confusingly the khao poon seemed as good as ever, though slightly salty. i really hope this was just a one off because i love this place. 

[Pat]

The Post has a fascinating article on refugee chefs. One of the chefs highlighted is Luangrath.

---

[P.S. PSA: Don't read the comments.]

[sandynva]

i was just looking at their menu online. did they raise their prices? 

[Marty L.]

1 hour ago, sandynva said:

i was just looking at their menu online. did they raise their prices? 

Yes

[Deborah Lee]

Chef Seng featured in Pineapple Collabrative's Pine for Pantry series:  Seng Luangrath's Pantry

[Pat]

A couple of friends and I went here for dinner last night. The food and service were both good, but we were more focused on socializing than eating. The Khao Poon was excellent but impractical for sharing. I was the one who really wanted it, but knowing we were sharing everything, something with a major liquid component was not a brilliant choice from that vantage point. We started with the pig's ears, which one friend really loves. I'm so-so on them but enjoyed the few I had. A whole order was too many for us. The dipping sauce with them is fantastic, though. We also had a laab with shrimp and another dish from the salad section of the menu that I think was Naem Khao Thadeau, but I didn't take notes. That was the spicier of the two salads.

I hadn't been here for quite a while. The menu seems shorter. We weren't asked about a heat preference and didn't express one. There was variation in the levels of heat among dishes. Nothing was insanely hot and nothing seemed to be begging for additional seasoning either.

[sandynva]

"How D.C. Learned To Love Minced Alligator" by Tara Barahmpour on washingtonpost.com

[DonRocks]

10 minutes ago, sandynva said:

"How D.C. Learned To Love Minced Alligator" by Tara Barahmpour on washingtonpost.com

Not Kangaroo Katie's?!

[Rhone1998]

An impromptu lunch of grilled chicken hearts and catfish laab this afternoon was delicious.  I've seen no quality decline here over the years, especially notable given the chef's frequent travels and the recent expansion.  One thing I have definitely noticed is a 180 change in their spicing policy, from opt-out to opt-in -- if you want it hot now, you've got to ask for it.

[Ericandblueboy]

55 minutes ago, Rhone1998 said:

One thing I have definitely noticed is a 180 change in their spicing policy, from opt-out to opt-in -- if you want it hot now, you've got to ask for it.

Too many buffoons in the city?

[funkyfood]

I like and regularly eat very spicy food, but that papaya salad was absolutely inedible to me a few years ago

[Ericandblueboy]

8 minutes ago, funkyfood said:

I like and regularly eat very spicy food, but that papaya salad was absolutely inedible to me a few years ago

The spice level has to be consistent.  One time at the fka Bangkok Golden III, we got a laab that was inedible to us.  Without having tasted the food, our server immediately suggested that we shouldn’t have ordered medium spicy.  That didn’t sit well with me as I was a regular customer and we always order medium spicy.

[sheldman]

For a birthday we ordered pickup from Thip Khao yesterday.   $40 per person for 3 non dessert courses, with one meat and one vegan option per course.  You have to make the same choice for each person in the party, along with same spice level, but I imagine you could work around that by making multiple separate orders.  Also cocktails for 4, etc.  it was incredibly good and extremely generous portions that will make more than two full meals.  (I have no reason to think that was a fluke for our order).  Check it out.  

[Bart]

As an FYI to the DR community, they are adding a 20% "Included gratuity" on the bill and they do not tell you about this.  At least my server didn't mention it.  I ended up tipping close to 50% the other night.  It's printed on the bill, and definitely my fault for not noticing, but I can't help feel a little taken advantage of.

[Ericandblueboy]

So you and @Tom Sietsema got burned but in his case, it’s not his money 😄

[Bart]

Yup!  That was my post to Tom.  It’s nice(?) know that I wasn’t the only one.