ILLUSTRATION BY EDWIN FOTHERINGHAM
FINE LEBANESE CUISINE FINE LEBA
in Arlington” – Tom Sietsema
“A Welcome Addition
2300 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201 703.465.4440
www.me-jana.com Free Parking
(Continued from Page 31)
Tysons Corner: 8142 Watson St. McLean, VA 22102 703-356-2288
Reston Town Center: 11964 Market St. Reston, VA 20190 703-435-4188
www.busara.com
“Great Food at a Reasonable Price” Since 1972
Anthony’s RESTAURANT
- Catering & Banquet facilities Available - Open 7 Days a week at both locations - Eat in or Carry Out
Fine American, Greek & Italian Cuisine Falls Church
7234 Centreville Rd. 703-361-1230
www.anthonysrestaurantva.com
309 W. Broad St. 703-532-0100 Manassas
Alexandria, VA 22312
Phone: 703-739-9600 Fax: 703-739-5809
www.RedCurry.us
ONLY FRENCH RESTAURANT OPEN SO LATE
’TIL 4 A.M. WEEKENDS All Major Credit Cards Accepted 3124-28 M STREET (202) 338-3830 GEORGETOWN
7101 Brookville Road Chevy Chase MD
301.986.5255 for reservations
www.lafermerestaurant.com
CAFÉ ASSORTIBakery
ENJOY A CUP OF COFFEE WITH CAKES, PIES AND PASTRIES MADE FRESH DAILY
HOMEMADE EASTERN EUROPEAN CUISINE Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • Bar
Phone: 703-465-0036 •
www.cafeassorti.com 1800 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA ’TIL 3 A.M. WEEKDAYS
RED CURRY 100 King St.
doused in a sauce whipped up from lime juice, anchovy sauce and both shrimp and black crab paste. The result is murky and volcanic, torching the tongue, then the throat, with each bite. Your head might itch, your nose might run, your brow might bead with sweat. Hiccups can be another side effect. I loved it. The fish salad (goi pah) is a scream,
too. The kitchen uses tilapia, which it marinates in gingerlike galangal and kaffir lime leaves, among other sharpeners, and serves in slices on a bed of lettuce sprinkled with toasted ground rice. A fresh red chili sits on top. Proceed with caution (or not). Thai food can be fiery, but Laotian
food is typically more so, and less sweet. The latter also is served with pearly short-grained sticky rice, from a small woven steamer, rather than jasmine rice. Steaming and grilling are preferred to frying, and soup often shows up with the meal, which skips distinct courses in favor of everything landing on the table at the same time. One dish to try if it’s offered: the juicy Lao-style skewered chicken, yellow with turmeric and tingling with ginger and lime. I’ve never seen more than two servers
in the mango-colored dining room; you might wait a few minutes for your beer or your bill, especially at peak hours, as the small staff juggles answering the phone, clearing tables and delivering dishes. But the food comes out at a decent pace, and whoever is attending you is invariably gracious. Luangrath, my waitress on two occasions, went so far as to demonstrate how to eat Laotian style, taking a bit of that sticky rice in her (clean) hands, shaping it into a little ball and using it as a scoop to transfer food from plate to lips. Ethiopians aren’t the only people to eat their utensils. I returned to the restaurant a few
THAI CHILI Chinatown
701 7th St, NW
Verizon Center Inside Gallery Place Building
202-393-2905 Located Next to
times to make more of a dent in its lengthy menu, and I can report that the ground chicken salad known as larb gai pulses with mint and cilantro as well as lime, and that green curry with sliced beef and soft Asian eggplant is packed to please a meat eater but not necessarily a heat seeker. Pork belly with Chinese broccoli, on the other hand, is too much chewy meat. Creamy fried bananas freckled with sesame seeds make a good conclusion. If there’s
Ask Tom
“Lately, I’ve been to a few restaurants and functions where the waiter refills or tops off wine glasses without asking. How do I ask the waiter to ask before refilling a glass?” asks Lesley Lavalleye of Potomac in an e-mail. “I like to know how much I’m drinking, especially if I’m a designated driver.” You can make your wishes known
from the start by telling your server you want to go easy on the wine or even pour your own, says Kathy Morgan, head sommelier at Michel Richard Citronelle in Georgetown. Nadine Brown, her counterpart at Charlie Palmer Steak on the Hill, suggests using a subtle wave of the hand over a wineglass to indicate you’re set for the moment; that’s her cue to inform everyone tending to the table that a guest doesn’t want a refill.
Send your thoughts, wishes and, yes, even gripes to
asktom@washpost.com.
a flaw that needs to be addressed, it’s too much sweetener in some Thai dishes. Until recently, the four-year-old
Bangkok Golden Thai didn’t promote its Laotian options for the same reason so many Mexican restaurants run by Salvadorans don’t offer dishes that reflect the owners’ roots: The cooking style isn’t as familiar, Luangrath says. That approach is about to change.
When I spoke to her earlier this month, head chef (and Phone’s sister-in-law) Sengaroun Luangrath was putting the finishing touches on a Laotian menu: more than 30 dishes poised to come out of hiding and start a few fires. You’ve been warned.
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