Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft Awards

Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: The daughter of established Atlanta restaurateurs who also specialize in Thai cuisine, Dee Dee Niyomkul convinced her fiancé to use their wedding money to open a restaurant. Modern in design, the establishment draws its logo and name from the motorized cabs that convey passengers around Bangkok: the tuk tuk. Niyomkul cooks all manner of Thai street food.

Food & Drinks: A clever bundle of small plates offers such treats as homemade dumplings with dipping sauce, northeastern Thai beef jerky, and calamari with chili sauce. We like the tiny triangles of crispy fried dough enclosing nicely seasoned vegetables. Then there are the noodle dishes, such as ba mee moo dang, which tops the noodles with Thai barbecued pork slices; another crowns glass noodles with either chicken or shrimp, with a perky squeeze of lime. Try the tender barbecued chicken with green mango salad and sticky rice. For dessert, get the mango with sticky rice (a portion big enough for two) when in season or the Thai custard. The best wine to complement the food is a clean, refreshing sparkler, such as the Domaine Chandon sparkling rosé. Most of the by-the-bottle choices are well thought out, but bring friends as the by-the-glass options are uninspired. Monday is fried chicken night, but go early as it's often gone by 8 p.m.