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Best Bargain Restaurants: Duangrat's

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Duangrat's
Baileys Crossroads

Duangrat's menu speaks volumes. it's longer than most--and more daring. Besides nicely done Thai standards, Duangrat's offers up such exotica as snails Thai-style with chili sauce, garlic, and basil; sautéed soft-shell crabs with mild curry; fried quail with pepper and garlic; and wild boar with chili paste and basil. These appear on the regular menu or as seasonal specials. There are also daily offerings. Two recent ones included salmon and shrimp in green curry, and grilled lobster on stir-fried egg noodles with chili-lemon sauce.

Spicy dishes here don't fool around. The crunchy papaya salad with dried shrimp is blistering. So is the sa-tor shrimp, an intriguing southern dish with plump pink shrimp and pale beans that look like limas but have a sulphuric odor. Much easier to love is the trout in banana leaves grilled with basil and cilantro, boned at the table, and served with a fiery-sweet tamarind sauce.

Desserts are topnotch: the black sticky- rice pudding with coconut cream sauce; baked mung-bean mousse, which tastes like a rich, eggy bread pudding; and the northern-inspired lychee ice cream, with bits of mango, lychee, and a warm burnt-caramel sauce. Though usually friendly and attentive, service can be glacial during peak hours.

Duangrat's , 5878 Leesburg Pike, Baileys Crossroads; 703/820-5775. Open Monday through Thursday 11:30 am to 10:30 pm, Friday through Sunday 11:30 am to 11 pm. AE, CB, DC, MC, V. MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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