Waldo Thai

"Open for: Lunch Friday and Saturday, dinner Monday to Saturday Price range: $$$ Waldo Thai is unique in the metro for its focus on Northern Thai, or Lanna cuisine, and date-night atmosphere. The restaurant’s expansive menu of small plates, which changes every other week, is an ideal way to sample as many of chef Pam Liberda’s dishes as possible. If you’re ordering off of the regular menu, start with the nam prik ong, a richly spiced chile dip with fried pork rinds, or the gaeng hung lei, braised pork belly curry with ginger and tamarind. Best for: Dining in. The rotating small plates aren’t always offered for carryout." - Liz Cook

"Waldo Thai offers dishes like tofu pad thai, which is a rare option at a soccer stadium. They also provide an off-menu special allowing customers to pair the noodles with items like their popular lemongrass pork." - Xiao daCunha

"Among all the laab and curries, Waldo Thai creates a whole new small plate menu every Wednesday. So really, one visit just isn’t enough to do this excellent Northern Thai spot justice. You’ll want to try as much as you can, so go for the Lanna Samplers, which allows you to create a combo of their chili dips and pork sausages with sticky rice. Always throw one of their excellent curries and noodle dishes in the mix too, especially the Phad Kee Mow Nua with flat noodles and steak. We also like coming for an after-work drink to fill up on herbal Thai liquor mekhong and rice before a long evening at the nearby KC Bier Company’s Biergarten. " - ryan bernsten

"Among all the laab and curries, Waldo Thai creates a whole new small plate menu every Wednesday. So really, one visit just isn’t enough to do this excellent Northern Thai spot justice. You’ll want to try as much as you can, so go for the Lanna Samplers, which allows you to create a combo of their chili dips and pork sausages with sticky rice. Always throw one of their excellent curries and noodle dishes in the mix too, especially the Phad Kee Mow Nua with flat noodles and steak. We also like coming for an after-work drink to fill up on herbal Thai liquor mekhong and rice before a long evening at the nearby Biergarten. " - Ryan Bernsten

"Waldo Thai is unique in the metro for its focus on northern Thai, or Lanna cuisine, and hip date-night atmosphere. Start with the nam prik orng, a richly spiced chili dip with ground pork, or the tum makheur, in which grilled eggplant and peppers are perfumed with fish sauce and mint. The restaurant’s cocktail menu changes frequently, and it’s always got a sense of humor (currently, the drinks are all named after pop songs)." - Liz Cook