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Nestled in the back of the store is a small dining area where you can order freshly prepared Lao and Thai fare.The menu offers several familiar dishes such as pad see eew, lard nah, pad Thai, kra paow, pad kee maow and pho, but we wanted something different. In the end we settled upon a starter, a side, some rice and a main, focusing on Lao over Thai.
We started with Lao beef jerky, which can be ordered with or without fat. We’re not really sure what that means, but we went with fat to save a dollar and hopefully gain some flavor, promising ourselves that dinner later would consist of a handful of raw kale and a glass of tepid water for penance. We were glad we did.There were perhaps a dozen six-inch strips of twisted meat, chewy in a good way and marinated and seasoned in a wonderful sweet-and-spice olio of flavors.
We added a side of sticky rice and went with a small for $4. The portion that was brought to the table was big enough for us to ponder whether they’d brought the large by mistake .For our main we went with an order of laub, probably the most traditional of all Lao dishes, prepared with seasoned minced meat mixed with roasted ground rice, lime juice, green onions, cilantro and mint.
This, too, was a rather large plate, full of the chicken mixture and garnished with a healthy supply of bean sprouts, peppers, mint, lime and romaine lettuce leaves. The flavor was good, but it was served at room temperature, as is correct and should have been expected. Even so, it’s something to keep in mind. Don’t expect it to be hot.When we were done, we had a bit of time to peruse the aisles of groceries.