The latter establishment made its debut in November and already has a fan club. More than once I’ve watched customers come in and cry “Boom!” at the sight of co-owner Supisa Teawbut, who goes by that nickname. Turns out she made lots of friends at Beau Thai in nearby Mount Pleasant, where she worked for seven years, the last three as a manager. When she decided to strike out on her own, Teawbut enlisted as a business partner the mother of a friend of hers, Boontom Ratana, previously the chef at Urban Thai in Arlington. As luck would have it, while shopping for a location for her restaurant, Teawbut landed a storefront whose landlord was a Beau Thai regular.
The stars seem to be aligned on the menu, too, an astonishing 75 dishes long. “We all picked what we thought was good and what we thought would sell,” says Teawbut, whose co-owners include her husband, who handles the restaurant’s business affairs, and the chef’s two sons, who help cook. Even after five samplings, three in person with pals in tow and twice with delivery, I feel as if I barely made a dent in the possibilities, which include a whole page devoted to Esaan cooking, a style Ratana knows well, having grown up in northeastern Thailand. Look forward to some fire and surprises in those dishes.
The gems among the appetizers include steamed dumplings packed with ground pork, crab and shrimp, a flavor profile enhanced with shiitakes in the mix and a splash of sweet soy sauce. They come four to an order, and four is never enough. The craggy corn fritters look like bedazzled little Frisbees, and I love the pop of the kernels and the ease with which the vegetable bound in a light tempura breaks apart. A light sweet-and-sour sauce accompanies the snack.
This is a kitchen that knows how to fry, evinced again when I bite into crisp little squares of tofu in a salad of lettuce, red onion and cashews. Sparkling with lime in its dressing, the appetizer is garnished with julienne tart green apple, which Ratana adds to counter the neutrality of tofu. Pork — shoulder and loin — is ground to a paste, seasoned with white pepper and sugar and formed into meatballs that are threaded on a skewer and grilled. The springy street food staple comes with a tamarind sauce that’s pungent with cilantro.
Ask food pros for markers that set same-flavored restaurants apart, and you might hear “roast chicken” from a French chef, “sushi rice” from a Japanese restaurateur and “dal” from an Indian authority. My gauge for a Thai kitchen tends to be papaya salad. At this, Donsak excels. The lime vinaigrette sparked with red chile sings, and the punctuation is correct (the crunch is by way of fried peanuts). Just as admirable is the star of the show, which the chef cuts by hand with a knife so the pieces aren’t uniform. A skewer of three grilled shrimp turns the appetizer into a light meal for only $10. The Esaan version of papaya salad is bolder, fueled with both fish sauce and anchovy paste that the chef makes at home and ferments for a year. Those and other little touches help distinguish Donsak from the pack.
Duck rolls aren’t very Thai, but they’re a handy way to use meat left over from making one of the restaurant’s curries, says Teawbut. The fat rolls are bound with scallions and cucumber and served with a combination of hoisin and oyster sauces. The presentation mirrors that of Peking duck, albeit with thicker wraps (roti in this case).
The newcomer takes its name from Don Sak, Teawbut’s birthplace and a city in southern Thailand known for its seafood, a cue to explore stir-fried rice noodles strewn with a treasure trove of mussels, shrimp and scallops that get a lift from curry powder. The association with water is established in the 42-seat dining room with navy-blue banquettes set against brick or white walls. The front window and a skylight over the small bar help illuminate the place, whose lone piece of art is a sepia-toned photograph of a man cooking on the waterfront — “King Number Five,” says Teawbut, referring to King Chulalongkorn (1853-1910), the monarch who helped modernize Thailand. The picture, says the owner, was hung to bring Donsak good luck.
I feel rewarded tucking into the curries, creamy with coconut milk but also nuanced. Any shade will do. Yellow curry is subtly sweet and thick with potatoes and onion (try it with shrimp). Green curry delivers a jungle of eggplant, bamboo shoots and Thai basil in a broth colored by cilantro and green chiles. Red curry leads the way to (take your pick) duck and pineapple or fried squash and red pepper in the bowl. The Esaan menu highlights a water-based, vegetal-tasting curry that doesn’t stint on the heat — taste the lemongrass and dried red chiles? — and is crowded with slices of Thai eggplant and a choice of pork, chicken or beef.
Thai food is often praised for its harmonious concert of sweet, salty, sour and hot notes. A dish that illustrates this especially well is nham kao tod, sprung from cooked, cooled rice that’s seasoned with curry paste and herbs and fried to a fine crunch, then broken into pieces and tossed with roasted peanuts, julienne fermented ham, onions and daggers of fresh ginger — the taste equivalent of a three-ring circus. Diners use cool lettuce leaves to bundle the assembly and foil the riot of flavors. I wouldn’t dream of not ordering nham kao tod.
I didn’t always strike gold, or even silver, here. The cocktails tilt sweet, and so does the bestseller. Why do so many Thai restaurants in the United States serve over-sugared pad thai? Fortunately, the successes outnumber the slips, and the long menu is less daunting when the servers double as curators. At the encouragement of Teawbut, I was introduced to one of the best salads at Donsak: shredded bamboo tossed with red onion, fish sauce, a touch of sugar and fresh mint, another Esaan dish (and served warm). Also, kudos to the kindly host who found a couple of us a table on a busy Friday, despite our not having a reservation, which I later learned is best made by phone.
Locals are fortunate. Donsak delivers for free within a 1½-mile radius (for a $20 minimum). Another plus: The menu is sprinkled with symbols marking dishes vegetarian or gluten-free, and some items can be made vegan upon request. The attention extends to the packaging; a wrapping of foil keeps steamed dumplings from drying out on their journey from Woodley Park to wherever you call home.
Seventy-five dishes means I’ll continue to return to Donsak in search of additional favorites. Even now, though, the menu offers plenty of news you can use.
2608 Connecticut Ave. NW. 202-507-8207. donsakthai.com. Open for takeout, delivery and indoor dining 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Prices: Appetizers $7 to $13, main courses $15 to $37 (sharing platter). Sound check: 75 decibels/Must speak with raised voice. Accessibility: Ramp at the (heavy) front door; ADA-compliant restroom. Pandemic protocols: Masks and vaccinations are not required for staff.
