A Night in Northern Thailand

We had read so much about Little Serow (pronounced arrow) that we decided to make a field trip with two of our food loving friends.  We thought that the threat of rain might temper the appetite of other foodies, but to our dismay there already was a line outside of this tiny restaurant when we arrived at 4:50 p.m. with raindrops falling.

Little Serow seats 28 - 8 at the bar and the rest at tables along the wall of this sea green  basement environment with low ceilings, an open kitchen and staff in “vintage” dress. The restaurant opens its doors at 5:30 p.m. and takes no reservations.  Everyone is served the same six courses. As we looked through umbrellas at the people ahead of us, we wondered how many were saving places for others yet to come.

Owned by Johnny Monis and his wife,  Anne Marler, the idea for this restaurant came from the time they spent in Northern Thailand after their wedding in 2011. This region of Thailand is not represented by our local Thai restaurants with their seafood dishes from the South or the coconut milk curries from central Thailand.

Since all the tables were now taken, we were guided to seats at the bar and were greeted warmly by our server who took us through the six course menu, explaining ingredients with great detail and enthusiasm.  The entire staff at Little Serow must take happy pills, and their smiles are infectious.

Our Singha beers arrived with a bowl of raw veggies (two radishes - watermelon and daikon -  cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, Thai basil and Thai eggplant) and a basket of sticky rice for dipping.  Each course was shared by the two of us and had a distinctive sauce or relish ready for our sticky rice.

First to arrive was a combination of diced mushrooms, tamarind and chilies to be spread and eaten on pork rinds. A light peppery flavor announced what was to come in other dishes.  

Tiny pieces of fried catfish, thinly sliced green mango and dried shrimp were next, and portions could be rolled in lettuce leaves or eaten with a spoon.   A very unusual dish  of sour fruit , shrimp paste and palm sugar came. This was followed by finely diced chicken livers with hot Thai peppers to be eaten on slices of cabbage. The tastes were complex and tongue tingling.

Crispy rice with sour pork and peanuts in a sweet and sour sauce arrived, followed by greens in a salted fish and egg sauce.  And finally the most memorable - melt in your mouth pork ribs with dill in a Mekong whisky sauce. 

Little Serow is a terrific food adventure.  No complicated menu or detailed research is required.  Sit back and enjoy each course. Although the small plates had enough for two or three bites per person, we all had very full stomachs as we left.

Range Restaurant

After viewing "The Internship" at Mazza Gallerie, a two hour ad for Google, we decided spontaneously to visit Range, Bryan Voltaggio's year-old restaurant across Wisconsin Avenue in the Chevy Chase Center.  Arriving at 7:15 p.m. we found the place to be half full; nevertheless the hostess directed us to the bar for a 15 minute wait before we could be seated at the counter in front of the "pasta and bread kitchen,"  one of the nine kitchen viewing stations that Range offers as entertainment during dinner.

Our tatooed bartender did make two delicious cocktails for us - Plymouth Bees Knees for Robin (gin and honey syrup concoction) and a Campari Negroni for me (yummy but not nearly as good as the Classico I had at Fiola last month).

To us, the restaurant decor was something out of 1970s California Pizza Kitchen. Light colors, comfy chairs, but without character.  There was considerable noise, but it always seemed to be "over there," and we were able to converse without any problem.

We noted that because of the "plate sharing" sizes (larger than the standard tapas plates), the menu prices seemed quite reasonable.  We started with  raw yellow tail tuna in a lime juice marinade with avocado puree. This was the best tuna I have ever tasted, and could  compete with any ahi tuna out there.

We substituted the bacon marmalade for pepper jelly to add to our jalapeno cheddar biscuits, and this was a brilliant spontaneous decision. (Range charges for its breads, but well worth the cost.) On the wine list we discovered a Ken Forrester Petit Pinotage for $16 and said "what the heck." It was a lovely picnic wine which opened up nicely throughout the rest of our dinner and was priced less than a typical restaurant corkage fee.  We had a nice chat with the sommelier, who said that he tries to price as many wines as he can close to wine store prices.

We shared the leg of lamb cooked over a wood fire-four nice-sized rare chunks of meat.    Robin had the  flash fried brussel sprouts while I enjoyed the creamy polenta.

For dessert we shared the goat cheese cake which arrived in four small pieces, beautifullly displayed over a bed of raspberry puree and accompanied with a spoon of Meyer lemon sorbet.

All this and in the 'hood too!