Bangkok Joe's

First, let me throw this out there: Citronelle is a place I'd like to go before I die. A 4+ course dinner at Komi sounds fantastic. At this stage of my life (early 20s, full time student) restaurants like those aren't happening. Yet. So if you are asking yourself, "Why this blog? Why now?" the reason is this: I feel like we (people like ME! It's all about me, isn't it?) are left out in the hunger-pangin' cold when we read blogs that discuss the 1638th trip to Insert-Expensive-Restaurant-Here.

Explanation over.

Our sister's visit almost led to a return trip to Zed's in Georgetown. Don't get me wrong, we love Ethiopian food and especially the part where we eat with our hands, but it was SO HOT that getting out of the heat for a funky place like Bangkok Joe's just seemed better--on the water, cool decor, lots of different food options...

We started with--in order of increasing crispiness--the Panang chicken buns, winter squash potstickers, and crispy chicken wontons. All three were delicious! The Panang chicken buns are light and fluffy with a filling that is deliciously soft. Two buns come in each steamed basket. I know winter squash potstickers don't seem very summery, but they are sweet, which was welcome on such a sticky day. (We sat inside, obviously.)

I had the Rama Chicken, which is marinated grilled chicken served on top of sen mee noodles (think vermicelli), with spinach, garlic, ginger, and peanut sauce. It was very tasty, but to eat all by myself it was a) a lot of food and b) very saucy. It's a great dish to share with someone else, because halfway through even the biggest fan would be sick of all the sauce. The pad thai is stellar, and the rice bowls are fun if you're feeling noodly without the noodles. The entrees are served in large asymmetrical bowls--it's a lot of food. None of us cleaned our bowls and we were all completely stuffed.

To our delight, we spotted a local (and I mean really local) celebrity in SJT. SJT, the former president of The George Washington University, was dining with his wife just a few tables away.

Plus side of Bangkok Joe's: when you leave and are very full, you can walk around the Georgetown waterfront and people-watch as you digest!

Service was OK. We got seated really quickly, which was surprising, but J never received the drink he ordered--at least we weren't charged for it.

Bangkok Joe's
www.bangkokjoes.com
3000 K St NW
Metro: Circulator or Metrobus to Georgetown, or stroll from Foggy Bottom on the Orange Line