100 Very Best Restaurants: #84 – Baan Thai

Photo courtesy of Baan Thai

About

Word is out about this northern Thai restaurant tucked inside a nondescript sushi joint. No matter—Jeeraporn Poksupthong’s cooking still feels like a discovery. You won’t find Americanized fare such as drunken noodles, though those who are taking their first dip into pungent, spicy Esaan cooking can still find mild dishes such as fried chicken with garlicky rice. We say throw caution aside and try a chili-laced salad of grilled mushrooms or an herbal green curry brimming with tender house-made fish balls. Inexpensive.
Also Great: Chicken-stuffed tapioca balls; pork picnic; vermicelli with peanut sauce; coconut idli.


Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.

Food Editor

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.

Jessica Sidman
Food Editor

Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.