FOOD: DC's Thip Kao

When DC was known as the “Murder Capital”, “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses may have been a suitable track on the score for many of the District’s neighborhoods.  Fast forward a few decades and the same music is still relevant but for another reason.  Chef Seng of Bangkok Garden in Falls Church, Virginia has infiltrated the upper end of 14th Street’s Restaurant Mile with her Laotian gem, Thip Khao.

Heat seeking adventurists can venture off to the jungle with a special menu for those leaning towards fiery fixins’.  I started with the standard summer rolls with a super yummy peanut sauce and the four alarm blaze papaya salad with crab paste.  Now this isn’t something toned down for diners, this menu is truly Lao Hot.  It was as if my mouth was attacked by a heat seeking missle.  Don’t get me wrong the flavor of the papaya, chilies, lime was nom nom but the uber fresh sweet papaya slowly built to a lip/mind numbing crescendo.  But once there, I frequently dipped into my basket of sticky rice to conquer this meal.  For the main dish, I devoured the chilean sea bass wrapped in a banana leaf seasoned with coconut, curry, and some veggies.  It was the perfect follow up to the papaya salad.  Sweet, creamy, comforting, and simply awesome. For drinks, a lover of the peaty LaPhroaig, I selected the Phin Dun, a take on the classic old-fashioned with scotch, burnt sugar, tamarind.

Thip Khao is an opportunity to transport yourself across the seven seas to indulge in Laotian cuisine without coughing up the money.  The flavorful gems were reminiscent of my travel in Southeast Asia.  What it isn’t is a typical restaurant experience where servers dote on your every beck and call.  But then again, who needs all that when the star of the show is the food.   And that’s perfect for me.  Judging by the crowds, many others agree.