Soi 38

The Heat Is On

Serious Spice and Golf Carts Downtown

None 5 Photos Soi 38
Warning: this food could burst into flames at any moment.

Okay, not really. Your mouth, on the other hand...

Get ready to numb your tongue for Soi 38, a gorgeous new dining room serving up real-McCoy-style Thai street food, opening April 15.

Start thinking of your most adventurous-eating friends. It’s okay if you’ve got a lot of them, because big tables abound here—chef’s table for 14, communal tables, big circular power booths next to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Everywhere you look: dragons, birds, elephants, even a golf cart painted in gold on the wall murals.

So yeah: conversation pieces while you try to weigh dishes that sound merely interesting (sriracha fried rice, off-menu bacon-fat fried rice with a soft egg) versus those that require some pluck (pork liver with Thai chilies and red onion, red curry roast duck).

Given all that, you may want to plot your drinking strategy in advance, lest you run out of liquids at an inopportune time. So better order up a whiskey-tamarind punch served in a teapot, a tea-infused Manhattan served in a bottle and a Singha beer on tap.

Maybe a glass of milk, too.

Elsewhere on the Daddy

More Food in Washington DC