Thai Tanic (and Halo), Washington, D.C.

It's always difficult for those who are not attached to another in some sort of amorous way to dine without being alone and/or depressed on the Feast of Saint Valentine. Showing up at a restaurant by ones self draws pointed fingers and stares and whispers of pity, whilst going out with just a friend—male or female—has people thinking that the two of you are a couple; sharing a home-cooked meal in the privacy of one's home has people gossiping even more and conjecturing as to what must be going on to warrant the need for privacy.

So, Thursday evening, my friend Ian and I braved the storm of once-a-year lovers, first spending some time shopping down town at several shops (we found a lovely cashmere navy blue overcoat for Ian on half-price sale at Jos. A. Bank), then bussing up 14th Street to arrive at Thai Tanic for dinner.

Well, they were jam-packed with lines coming out the door, so we walked around the corner to partake of the end of happy hour at a surprisingly not-busy Halo. Halo always requires a little bit of time, since they have big cocktails and their happy hour is a buy-one-get-one-free arrangement, meaning one has to devote sufficient time to the responsible consumption of two stiff drinks. Ian got a mojito followed by some kind of vodka, Grand Marnier, and cranberry concoction. I just drank a gin martini so I could have the olive garnish for dinner. LOL My second drink was "bartender's choice" and he made me a Rob Roy, and a good one, too.

Eventually we ended back at Thai Tanic where there was still a tiny wait for a table, but we were fourth in line, and it didn't take long. Apparently, the problem there was a large table of 14 or so (it looked sort of like an office party) that took up much of the dining room and had been lingering over their dinner. Anyway, Ian discovered the cocktail list and ordered a ThaiTanic Thunder, a tall fruity drink with red coloring and pineapple juice and who knows what kind of alcohol. I gather it was good, since it wasn't long before he ordered another.

We did have dinner, though. Sorry for the absence of photos, but I really hadn't planned on dining out when we started our shopping expedition, and didn't bring a camera (the photo here is from Ian's cell phone). Whilst Ian imbibed, I had a papaya salad, a very large plateful of finely-shredded green papaya with sun-dried tiny shrimp in a spicy-hot lime dressing.

For his meal, Ian ordered the pad prik king, an unexpectedly large plate of chicken breast strips and thick green beans in red curry. I had the gaeng ped yang, also a red curry, but with sliced roast duck with coconut milk, tomatoes, pineapple, and the Thai-ubiquitious basil leaves. My plate was half the size of Ian's, though I still got an ample serving. Both dishes came with steamed white rice. I also got a Singha, a Thai lager beer, to wash things down.

I wasn't in a dessert mood, but Ian was, ordering the crispy banana, a bowl of vanilla ice cream surrounded by a teepee of deep-fried banana wedges and all drizzled with honey.

After dinner we caught a bus to Georgetown, as it was briskly windy and cold out. I got off at Dupont Circle to catch the Metro home, but for some reason, I ended up walking home. Meanwhile, Ian is in New York City this weekend having a much properer celebration of the Valentine feast.