Erawan Restaurant

I love Thai food and I love a good lunch special, so it was awesome when I discovered Erawan, , 123 S. 23rd Street. For $7.95, you get a salad, an appetizer or soup, and your main course. There are a couple of tricks about getting the lunch special, though. First off, you can’t take out. You must eat at the restaurant. The second thing is that the service is usually very quick for fewer than four people. If you go to lunch with your whole team, expect to sit for a little while.

One of the appeals of the restaurant for me is that it is a very intimate setting, with pretty orange walls and a low-key atmosphere. The restaurant generally has a fresh flower at every table, which is a nice touch, and I’m really fond of their flatware and dishes. It’s pretty to eat there.

The meal I recommend is getting the Erawan salad (it has a delicious peanut-based dressing). Try either the vegetable spring rolls or the vegetable dumplings (steamed are better than fried, I think). For the main dish, give the Massaman curry with tofu or chicken a try. It is a warm flavor, rich and served with peanuts. If you have enough to take home, don’t hesitate to ask for it to be wrapped. When chicken has a long while to sit and soak in the curry, it makes for excellent leftovers.

Even with taxes and tip, it’s a lot of food for cheap when you get the Erawan lunch special. Plus, it’s less than a full block away from the main office.

Megan, 24, recruitment senior corps member