Rice

Rice Restaurant Review:

In a gesture of complete culinary creativity, the chef at this Logan Circle destination takes Thai cooking several steps away from the ordinary with a menu that divides itself into three sections: contemporary (read aggressively creative), traditional (well, not very), and vegetarian. Yet, in this city where Thai cooking runs rampant, Rice seems like a breath of fresh air, a change of pace from the boringly predictable---and often inferior---pad Thais and panang curries around town. Even its minimalist setting strikes a refreshing chord: gone are the slick, sleek, splashy laminated designs in favor of blank white walls and a quiet splashing fountain. We really liked the wacky spaghetti with herbs, Thai anchovies and crispy bacon and wondered about the fried chicken with lemon grass. We were less thrilled with its version of pad thai---overly sweet and suspiciously red; is this tinged with ketchup?---and the supposedly spicy shrimp fried rice. Its one chili designation was off the mark, as the rice was very bland.