Dining in DC: Notes from a Week in the Capital
Good and affordable Thai food in Foggy Bottom
Foggy Bottom is the home of not only the State Department and K street, where the biggest lobby operations have set up tents, but of George Mason university. As we were staying only a few blocks away from campus, I would have expected there would be a plethora of cheap restaurants catering to students. Alas, that was not the case and Charm Thai was close to the only choice of this kind. Fortunately for us, it turns out that Charm Thai offers very solid Thai cuisine at affordable prices (though perhaps still too high for students) and was only a couple of blocks from our hotel. During our week-long stay, we ordered from there twice.
The first time we ordered, my daughter got the Pad Thai with tofu ($18) and my husband had the panang curry with chicken ($17). I wasn’t hungry enough to order anything. They were both so happy with their dishes that they ordered them again a couple of nights later. That time we also got the curry puffs ($9) and I got the pad thai with beef ($20) and the strawberry smoothie ($6). The first time they gave us complimentary rice, though they skipped it the second time. That was OK, as my husband tries to avoid it anyway.
The food was great, though the portions weren’t as generous as one might have hoped for the price. Both my daughter and I liked really liked the pad thai. It was a tad sweeter than usual but just wonderfully seasoned. The beef, unfortunately, had no flavor whatsoever. I don’t even think they had salted it. I would totally avoid it the next time. The noodles, however, were amazing.
My husband absolutely loved the curry puffs. He couldn’t quite describe why, but he mentioned they were just satisfying. He felt the same about the panang chicken which he described as “absolutely delicious”. It was spicier than in most other places, which he thought was a good thing.
The strawberry smoothie, on the other hand, was also disappointing. There was too much ice and this diluted the flavor of the strawberry, so it was too mild to enjoy. I wouldn’t buy it again.
We didn’t bother to take pictures, so you only have these descriptions to go by, but if you’re in the mood for Thai in Foggy Bottom, this is definitely the place to go or order from.
Charm Thai
2514 L St NW
Washington, DC
(202) 333-2460
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