Craving thai food?

Rice
If you're tired of going to dingy Thai restaurants like the basement Sala Thai in Dupont or generally or better still, want to make an occassion out of dining at a Thai restaurant, then Rice restaurant (http://www.ricerestaurant.com/) is the place for you. Located on 14th street next to HR 57 and north of Q street, Rice is simplistic yet trendy in its decor with one entire wall of exposed brick with lights illumnating the wall. The long and narrow restaurant was quite packed the night we went and and we waited for our table with numerous others at the tiny bar one end of the restaurant. The chef is Phannarai Promprasert who was formerly with Busara in Glover Park. The menu is divided into three categories: Rice specialties, authentic Thai, and healthy green, each subdivided into soups, appetizers and entrees. I chose the thai green curry mixed with vegetables and tofu for $12. The lunch menu is relatively cheaper and the restaurant was quite empty. However, we still enjoyed the delicious menu while sitting on the outdoor patio.

Regent Thai Cuisine
Regent Thai Cuisine (http://www.regentthai.com/), diagonally accross from Lauriol plaza on 18th Street is a good new addition to the area and yet it seemed empty compared to Lauriol! While we ate an early dinner in the outside patio I popped in to check out the decor inside the suprisingly large restaurant. On the walls were the most beautiful Thai woodcarvings lending a sense of serenity to the place. Unlike many restaurants that often forget the lonely couple dining outdoors, we found the service very good as they came often enough to check on us without disturbing our peace. We did find that the bugs were bothering us in the outdoor patio which subsided a bit after the waitstaff lit some citronella type candles. Shrek had the Chicken red curry for $7.95 and I had a delicious Papaya sald for $5.95. It's definitely a place we intend to check out again and we will probably choose to dine inside the next time.