2011 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Sunday, October 16, 2011

Shrimp flatbread, an Asian riff on a beef sandwich, fried papaya salad: Some of the area's most intriguing Thai cooking is found in the corner of a suburban Virginia shopping center, in a place run by first-time restaurateurs from southern Thailand. The expected dishes all make an appearance, and most are pleasing. Patrons can count on dark golden fish cakes shocked with a dipping sauce of chilies and peanuts; nuanced green curry chicken and eggplant that comes with pancake-like roti; and steamed dumplings, fat with ground pork and shrimp and capped with frizzy fried garlic. Like the food, the decor of this mom-and-pop reveals attention to the small stuff. Pretty porcelain jars contain the condiments, upended umbrellas set off the ceiling outside the kitchen, and images of the outpost's mascot grace both the menu cover and colorful swatches of fabric on the wall.