Review #6: Sticky Rice

Last night after work I decided to get some take-out and wine to bring home for wonderful, hard-working, never-complaining T, who had spent his whole workday driving a rental car around to about half the wastewater treatment plants in the city taking samples. Of poop. Okay, it was treated poop and technically "fertilizer" but still. Add that to the fact that he had worked the night before until 2:30am and it's a pretty stinky day (ba-da-bing!) so what better way to improve it than with Thai food and booze? I ran by Bluestockings to pick something up and asked about nearby options and the choice was immediately obvious: Sticky Rice.

Richmonders: I know what you're thinking. "Carly, is there room in your life for more than one Sticky Rice?" Well, I've thought about it quite a bit (okay, five minutes) and the answer is yes, if they are of different cuisine genres. And since Richmond Sticky Rice is by far the best [super Americanized] sushi and tater tots--what genre are they?--on earth, I had very high hopes for its Thai sibling, Sticky Rice of the Lower East Side (map below).

The decor in the restaurant was really cool and trendy--not trying too hard, but lots of texture and ambiance. I was a little sad I was just getting takeout (and even more so when I came home and read the reviews lauding their BYOB policy). The menu was pretty standard, though they did have a "BBQ" section that wasn't intriguing enough for me to read at the time (I was in a little bit of a hurry to get home and chow down/snuggle) but might be cool if you were eating there! I ordered one Massaman Curry w Tofu + Veggies (for T) and a Red Curry w Tofu + Veggies -- two similar dishes but that's what we were each in the mood for.

It took almost 15 minutes for my food to be ready, which is pretty long for a below-averagely busy place. On the other hand, each entre was only $10 which is pretty affordable for NYC (particularly in the Lower East Side). After an unremarkable commute, I made it home and T and I dug in. The tofu was pretty awesome: lots of big pieces and full of flavor. Veggies were a little "meh"--mostly overcooked and only two awkwardly (unpleasantly) large broccoli pieces. There was one really good and one really bad thing about each dish: the really good part was the mint-green-colored sticky rice! Really cool! I had to tell T it was green, and after some initial doubt, he eventually believed me. It was yummy. The bad part was the sauce: not creamy/coconut-y at all! It was also very spicy, in a mostly-good but sometimes-overwhelming way.

The verdict: maybe try eating in another time, but not a fantastic take-out experience. However, the accompanying gift-wrapping, hot-cocoa-drinking, and snuggling experience was way above average.

Tai Thai rating: 6.5

Price: Reasonable

Service: Slow

Food: Spicy

Portions: Average

Ambiance: Nice but N/A

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