There’s a difference between “hot” and “spicy.” It’s the same difference between “hurt” and “hurt so good.”
To clarify, “hot” flavors are merely torture devices. They assault the palette with corrosive acid, leaving thousands of scorched tastebuds in their wake. That hurts.
On the other hand, “spicy” flavors are more rounded. Sure they can pack heat, but they also tease the tongue with sugar, or even lull it into submission with cream before roaring through the sinuses. That hurts so good.
Which way the food swings at Thai at Silver Spring (921E Ellsworth Dr) depends on the dish ordered.
For the faint of stomach, the healthy rolls ($5.50, below) are a safe start. Shredded chicken, rice noodles and fresh herbs are bundled into paper-thin rice wrappers, then served cold with a sweet, peanutty dipping sauce.
The rolls offer the delightful squish of cold noodles with the crisp snap of mint and cilantro. However, unless biting directly through the bitter herb bundle, the rolls lack flavor and can be overwhelmed easily by the dipping sauce.
Another innocuous bet is the pineapple fried rice ($10 at lunch, $12 at dinner, below). It’s standard Asian-inspired fried rice with everything — and I mean everything — thrown in.
While a little on the greasy side, the fried rice is still a pleasant surprise. First, it’s served in a hollowed pineapple. Next, it’s got strips of pork and chicken, plus massive shrimp, raisins, small pineapple cubes and cashew nuts.
Most of all, it’s got the fragrant flavor of scallions and ginger. That, plus the sweet pineapple, invigorates the dish.
Now here’s where things get tricky.
The chicken pad ka pow — thin slices of white meat sauteed with chilis, garlic and fresh basil, then served in a soy-based sauce — hurts ($8 at lunch, $11 at dinner, below).
The blistering heat immediately sears the tongue, and no sweet sauce or sharp basil can save it. The heat isn’t lethal, but it’s enough to knock one’s tastebuds out of commission after the first bite.
On the other hand, the green curry with chicken ($8 at lunch, $11 at dinner) hurts so good. Here, the heat is more insidious. It infuses into a creamy coconut-milk sauce and camouflages itself with gingery curry paste and fresh basil leaves.
It’s a sneaky bastard. But it also offers a more well-rounded flavor than the pad ka pow. It’s more of a slow roast than spontaneous combustion.
Service is relatively brisk, though the dark, expansive dining room can get very noisy. Its open arrangement does nothing to filter out the screaming kid across the room.
Still, the place is clean, the people are nice, and the hot stuff is clearly marked on the menu.
Thai at Silver Spring, 921E Ellsworth Dr (second floor), Silver Spring, (301) 650-0666.
Photos by Jennifer Deseo and Ronald Pace for The Silver Spring Penguin.
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My personal favorite is the Green Papaya Salad. Spicy in the ‘hurts so good’ category. The Tom Ka (coconut soup) is spicier than most Thai restaurants, but has great flavor and lots of vegetables.
Their Thai Iced Tea is identical to every other Thai restaurant, but it’s one of my favorite drinks, so that’s a good thing.
Service is quick and friendly, and I’ve never had to wait more than five minutes for a table even on the busiest nights. Be sure to take home a menu because they do deliver.
What is your rating? I love Thai, but can’t find it hot enough here. I make my own Yam Pla Meuk, a salad of blanched squid, marinated in lime juice, Thai hot peppers, garlic, and fish sauce. I always asked to be treated like a native (heat wise), but they always whimp out. The best Thai I have had was in Germany, so maybe the good peppers aren’t allowed in The Capitol Of The Free World. (along with free speach, health care…)
…. it’s not even 9am yet and I’m ready for lunch now….. damn you for making me hungry early SS Penguin!!!
They make some mean mango and sticky rice, too.
If you want to try some real awesome Thai Food come up to Wheaton.
Hands down the Ruan Thia on Amherst, just off of University is the best Thai around!!!
Chip
Living in Thailand for 12+ years I’d like to think I can pick out a good thai eatery!
I Nava Thai in Wheaton is an REALLY good with the old standbys – curry and pad thai but also a lot of Thai food that isn’t readily available in the typical Thai food resteraunt. Chicken and sticky rice, AWESOME payapa salad, a lot of the hot noodle dishes in soup, hoi obb – mussels fried with eggs. DELISH.
Other than this one Bangkok Garden in Bethesda is also really good! I’ve noticed though that quality can vary sometimes but overall great!
They generally have pretty good food. We’ve had some terrible delivery service, though.
One time it took more than 2.5 hours for delivery. Periodic calls always resulted in “It’s on it’s way, should be there in 10 minutes”. I can’t imagine what route the deliveryman could be on: I began to suspect that he was walking his route, but he swung by in the car eventually.
Another time, the deliveryman gave us someone else’s order. He came back to get it about 15 minutes after delivery, and since we hadn’t started eating yet, he took it away. He didn’t come back with our order for another 75 minutes or so.
Spending a few months in Thailand spoiled me, because the best meals we got were at the “night markets” where a plate of amazing Pad Thai cost us 25 cents. I’m still looking for a really good Thai restaurant, especially one that will make it Thai people hot, not American shlub hot. Thai at Silver Spring is okay. I was hoping for something better and, I’ll be honest, hipper. It’s got that family-friendly vibe that makes my wife and I scurry away to Adega as fast as we can.
What’s really disappointing is the Vietnamese place next door.
Springvale Roader – I miss the night markets and the street vendors… I’d even ask for the papaya salad light on the hotness and I’d still have to run around grabbing an extra bottle of water It’d be so hot.
Definately check out Nava Thai, besides Bangkok Garden in Bethesda this is the closest I’ve come to authentic Thai in the DC area.
Tdiddy, I actually cut and pasted your message about Nava Thai, since you sound like someone who knows what they’re talking about.
As for Bangkok Garden: my wife and I are both vegans, and alas, BG is one of the few local Thai restaurants that doesn’t do well in that department.
Some years ago there was a Thai restaurant on 18th St. in Adams Morgan that made us a green curry that was so hot, it blew the tops of our skulls off. That place is gone and I’ve yet to find another like it here.
Lastly: know anywhere we can find some fresh durian and rambutan?
At first, we were excited for the menu and reasonable drink prices (creative cocktails!) but it went down hill from there. The service was very slow and then when our mussells came, they were inedible. They literally smelled like wet-dog. They brought us crispy spring roll instead but it was nothing more than fried dough, no fillng :( Definitely not going back. Don’t waste your time.