Madison, WIThai

Christine Inthachith was a student and her mother Bounyong was working full-time when they opened Lao Laan-Xang on Odana Road in 1990, the first Lao restaurant in Madison; it moved to Williamson Street in 1997 and later to Atwood Avenue. The Wisconsin State Journal names the squash curry as the signature dish since the beginning. Under the maroon-and-gold awning the walls run warm red and apricot, with carved wooden elephants along a mahogany bar and paper lanterns overhead.

Jamie Hoang opened Ahan inside The Bur Oak, the east side music venue once known as the Winnebago, after other kitchens there did not work out, and the Wisconsin State Journal’s reviewer says the drunken noodles are what they would live on. Those come wide and thick with white onion, garlic, scallion, cilantro, Thai basil and chiles. The hot basil uses holy basil and Thai basil with chiles and scallions, served over jasmine rice under a fried egg.

Sala Thai has run on South Fair Oaks Avenue long enough for the Wisconsin State Journal to have reviewed it more than once, and the paper notes the name means a place of rest. Ornate wood carvings, a wood floor and Thai paintings and photographs cover the room. The spring rolls arrive with shrimp wrapped in mint and basil. The review is a mixed one on heat levels, so say plainly how spicy you want a dish rather than trusting the menu’s numbering.

The name does not suggest Laotian or Thai food and neither does the decor, which is the Cap Times reviewer’s point: Rising Sons Deli on State Street turns out Laotian and Thai cooking well out of proportion to the room it occupies. Curries are the order, and the kitchen runs them hot when asked. The State Street address puts it in the middle of the campus stretch, so expect a student crowd and a fast turnaround at lunch.

Arom Wichitchu and his wife run Sa-bai Thong on Odana Road, and the Cap Times writes that they blend the Thai flavors of sour, spice and sweetness with real success. The paper opens on the greeting, sawatdee khrab, which is the register the room is pitched at. It is a west side destination rather than a campus stop, so it suits a sit-down dinner. Order across the sour and sweet end of the menu rather than only the curries.