D.C. will get its first Laotian restaurant later this month with the opening of Thip Khao, an eatery featuring the cuisine of Laos from chef Seng Luangraph of Falls Church’s Bangkok Golden restaurant.
Thip Khao will take over the space that formerly housed Thaitanic at 3264 14th St. NW, and aims to open to the public in the second half of November, according to Bobby Prabachith, the chef’s son and general manager of the new location.
The Columbia Heights restaurant is named for the Laotian word for “sticky rice basket,” which is the vessel used to transport sticky rice to the table. The sticky rice is rolled into balls and used as the primary utensil in sampling other dishes.
Thip Khao’s dishes will come family style and are meant to be shared, according to Prabachith. Highlights include a papaya salad the chef will make tableside using a custom-built cart, and nam khao, a crispy rice salad made with coconut, curry and herbs.
Luangraph decided to make the leap to D.C. from her small Seven Corners restaurant after finding many of her customers in Falls Church were coming from D.C. She also was pleasantly surprised by the response to the Laos menu items; though Bangkok Golden has separate Thai and Laotian menus, more than half the customers now request only the Laotian selections, according to Prabachith.
The 89-seat restaurant will also have a small bar, and, in the future, an outdoor patio. In the beginning, Thip Khao will serve dinner as well as takeout; lunch and brunch could be added down the road.
Plan B: D.C.’s newest burger joint, Plan B Burger Bar in Penn Quarter, opened Monday with its alliterative offerings: burgers, beer and bourbon. The New England-based burger chain opened at 801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW and joins Paul Bakery and Chop’t in the Market Square West building. The restaurant serves nearly 20 varieties of burgers, including a “philisteak burger,” a “low carb burger” served on lettuce with no bun, and an eggplant burger with Greek toppings including feta cheese and Kalamata olive mayo.
Baroak: Chef Teddy Folkman, longtime chef and owner of Granville Moore’s on H Street NE, is branching out. Rather than opening a new D.C. spot, however, Folkman is headed east to Annapolis to open Baroak Cookhouse & Taproom in the Loews Annapolis Hotel. The Baroak menu will include burgers, Folkman’s signature mussels, entree salads and flatbreads, among other items. Back at Granville Moore’s, chef Jeremy Kermisch will take on a bigger role while Folkman splits time between D.C. and Annapolis.
