Ruan Thai - View this location on map 'The area s best Thai cooking outside of Virginia is to be found in a dimly lit slip of a restaurant whose food is as uncompromising as it is delicious. Krisana Sucsopinunt, who does the cooking and runs the place with her sister and brother-in-law, doesn t let her dishes give in to the sweetness that creeps into so much Thai cooking. Even better, she has an obvious love for the funky and tangy. The result is a roster of some 100 dishes that scarcely resembles what you usually find. A plate of grilled beef is full of smoke from the grill, a grainy crunch from the rice flour tossed on top, and a sourness from liberal shots of lime and fermented fish sauce. The crispy duck with basil and chilies doesn t deviate much from standard preparations, except that those are often dull while this one is fabulous, with strong hits of garlic and basil perfuming the crisp-skinned meat. And don t miss a whole crispy fish, scored and bearing a creamy red-curry sauce. For dessert, a superb rendition of sticky rice is topped with a luscious custard. Open daily for lunch and dinner' Washingtonian 11407 Amherst Ave., Wheaton, MD Budget, Restaurant

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