Rice Avenue

I like the name Rice Avenue. It sounds like a street I'd want to live on. It's also a very nice looking restaurant on Roosevelt Avenue. I got a lunch special at Rice Ave. this week, walking in at around 3:15, close to the end of lunch special time. They still let me order though, and I decided to get pretty much the same lunch special meal that I got at Rumphool Thai a few months ago: a salad and a curry. This time I got green curry, since it said on the menu that it was (spicy) while the red, penang, and yellow curries were (medium spicy) and the Massaman was (mild).
The salad: iceberg, carrots, a cucumber and a tomato slice. The peanut dressing topping it all was good, with a nice hit of spice at the end. Otherwise, nothing special.

The curry. I appreciated the pretty rice pyramid. The curry was thin, and yes, a little (spicy), but it also had a sweetness to it, more than just the coconut milk. It was full of chicken, string beans, basil, and lots of bamboo shoots (my favorite). Not a life-changing curry, but a good lunch special, for $6.95. As soon as my food came out, the staff of three sat down at a small table and passed around platters heaped with food for their family meal. I tried to be subtle as I stared at their plates, but it looked much more exciting than my boring old curry. Sorry for being rude, Rice Avenue workers, but I sometimes suffer from food envy.

Rice Ave.
72-19 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights

I would just like to share this bit about the interior of the restaurant from the Rice Ave. website:
The décor of RICE AVENUE reinforces the symbolism of rice, the staple form of physical nourishment for South, East and North Asian cultures and cuisine. Upon entering the red cherry wooden door, one first notices the ceiling, a lattice of squares that recall the rice paddies of Asia. The seating is the color of uncooked rice. While the rectangular, acrylic ceiling lights illuminate the dinner in soft rice colored white. The long, horizontal wall sconces are rectangular and white, or avenues of rice white. A border of green, grass-like rice plants rings the seats and tables.
I love that I sat in a chair the color of uncooked rice. Much thought was put into the details, and I appreciate that too.