Komol

Description:

• This is a hole-in-the-wall dive, like most good ethnic places. The menu is pretty large, divided into different sections for poultry, beef, and pork, plus a separate section for vegetarian dishes, plus many rice and noodle selections. They'll spice the food to your specifications. Unless you know your spicy Asian food, it might be best to play it on the safe side. Although we don't want things bland, too much heat can overwhelm all other flavors. The mild to medium packs enough of a kick for most people.

  Among the items tried during a recent visit were a vegetarian green curry and the pud-kee-mao (flat rice noodles stir-fried with ground chicken, mint, garlic, and hot peppers). Nam sod is ground pork with a hot-and-sour sauce, ginger, and peanuts, all of which you wrap up in lettuce leaves -- sort of an Asian burrito. Sort of. The Thai iced tea was particularly good -- just the right amount of sweetness and tea taste for a drink that is often served overly sweet.

  Worth noting: The Commercial Center also has a number of other ethnic (mostly Asian) restaurants, including Korean barbecue.

• © Frommer's 2013