Sawasdee’s shtick has long been its cool elegance; not only does the space actually seem designed, with better-than-average artifacts and waitresses in silk sari-like garb (at dinner; lunch features denim), but the (absurdly long) menu leans toward tony, not truck-stop Thai. The “Lady Shrimp” wrapped in wands of rice paper and fried are a case in point; they’re elegant, not exciting. Fish cakes, on the other hand, are more emphatic than the norm; hold the plum sauce on both of these, please. Most curry connoisseurs might want to ask for a little more heat in the reds and greens; sometimes a yellow curry with chicken, potato, and coconut milk just wants to be comforting—sort of like chicken and dumplings with an Asian accent.

“I think Sawasdee has the best Thai food in town at the moment” claimed one panelist. “I love their red curry served in a half pineapple. Incredible presentation,” he continued. We would normally disdain anything so crass as curry in pineapple (yeah, that’s us), but in this case the roasted duck curry with basil, pineapple, tomatoes, coconut, and more, served in a pineapple half-shell, is spectacular indeed. After such excessive indulgence, fresh mango with sticky rice is adequate penance.