The Green Papaya
We don’t get out for dinner very often without children in-tow, so last Wednesday was special simply because we were alone together. What made it even more special was the incredible food prepared for us at The Green Papaya, a fairly new Vietnamese restaurant on Capitol Hill. Fish-eating vegetarians such as Susan and I don’t usually flock to Vietnamese cuisine with its heavy emphasis on pork and beef, but friends recommended The Green Papaya and we trusted them. Our trust was well-placed.
We started out with some delicious rolls of some kind. The name escapes me (but they were sans carne). Fresh vegetables and sesame seeds? wrapped in rice paper and served with a delicous peanut sauce. I ordered the ginger tofu, which was perfectly stir-fried and spiced in a very subtle way. The tofu was surrounded by expertly cut and cooked vegetables (sorry I can’t be more specific but my food vocabulary is thin and my memory a bit hazy.) Susan had a curry tofu, similarly prepared to mine but very different in flavor. It was also excellent. The portions were perfectly sized for our appetites. The food was resonably priced but the alcohol was expensive! But considering the quality of the food and service, it was well worth every penny dropped. We got out of there $50 lighter, which ain’t bad.
It’s not often that I continue to think about food I ate days ago. I may have even dreamed about that tofu last night. We’ll be dining at The Green Papaya again. Go if you can.