Spoon Thai

If you stick to the menu basics served in this simple but pleasant dining room, you’ll miss out on the best stuff. Get adventurous with kung chae naam plaa, raw shrimp marinated with lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and chile—a searing Thai take on ceviche. The Isaan-style pork-and-rice sausage is almost as addictive as the naem khao thawt, a crunchy, salty, tangy salad of fried rice, tiny ham bits and flecks of cilantro. Curry fans should try the kaeng som kung sot, a thin, slightly sour, shrimp-dotted tamarind curry, or call a day ahead to request special housemade fish balls doused with amazingly good green curry.