Tom Sietsema Awards Three Stars to Little Serow

Little Serow has been a critical success pretty much ever since it opened its doors in Dupont two months ago, and now this second project from Komi's Johnny Monis has that title all sewn up with this week's review from Tom Sietsema. The Washington Post critic awards Little Serow three stars — just as fellow critic Todd Kliman did in this month's issue of The Washingtonian. Though it's not the four stars Komi has earned from both critics, Sietsema has nothing but praise for the fledgling Thai restaurant that he calls a "bar-raiser."

"Eating this food — the most exuberant Thai cooking I've encountered on the East Coast — is a (legal) zap to the brain's pleasure centers. Hot heads will definitely get more out of the trip than will delicate palates."

Sietsema walks you through the procedures of Little Serow: it's family-style, no substitutions, show up as early as possible as there are no reservations. He describes the fish cakes as "a revelation," the pork ribs as tender and the flavors as leaving a "trail of pleasure on the palate." [WaPo]

Todd Kliman adds Banh Mi DC Sandwich in Falls Church to the list of restaurants where he's eating now, explaining that the sandwiches serve as "Vivid reminders of what the boring and/or dumbed-down others all miss—the peppery bite, the pronounced sharpness of the pickling, the balance between meats and condiments, the lightness of the loaf." [The Washingtonian]

Don Rockwell has released the latest iteration of his dining guide and on it he's made a variety of changes. For starters, he includes his early thoughts on District Kitchen, deemed a restaurant worth supporting. He also declares that he'd like to nominate Little Serow for Best New Restaurant — as he has already for Fiola and Rogue 24. Meanwhile, The Bayou is a "little-known surprise." [Don Rockwell]

Tim Carman takes a look at the new food truck out from the Fojol Bros., a Thai truck named Volathai: "The Green Green Curry was probably the most untraditional dish I tried: a mild, coconut-milk curry dotted with snow peas, corn and these tasty half-moons of charred Brussels sprouts. I would have liked more spice, but I could have popped those grilled sprouts all day, like fiber-oriented M&Ms." [WaPo]

Rina Rapuano checks out Bethesda's Purée Juice Bar for the Washington Post: "The orange lassi shake (one of several "signatures" from the bar), blended with almond, vanilla, coconut and a heavy hit of cardamom, is a really lovely combination, although I found the coconut was a bit too coarse. ... But our favorite was the cacao berry puree of strawberries, banana, coconut and cacao (unprocessed) powder." [WaPo]

THE BLOGS: DMV Dining wasn't crazy about the College Park outpost of Bobby's Burger Palace, but has a nice brunch at Local 16; DCist takes a first look at District Kitchen; DC-Wrapped Dates takes a first look at The Hamilton and revisits Oyamel; We Love DC describe's Toki Underground's Erik Bruner-Yang as a "culinary ninja."

[R. Lopez]