Drop the suit at Thai Restaurant

Thai Restaurant

3316 Greenmount Ave.

Phone: 410-889-6002

Price: $8 - $15

Location: Waverly

Hours: Mon.-Sat.: 11:30 a.m.- 3 p.m.,

5 p.m.-10 p.m.

Sun.: 4:30 p.m.- 9:30 p.m.

Thai Restaurant has a lot of factors in its favor. It's close, cheap and, as a bonus, the food is pretty good.

Located on Greenmount Avenue near the Enoch Pratt library's Barclay branch, the restaurant is a short walk from campus. It is exactly what the name implies: straightforward, unpretentious Thai food in an unpretentious setting. The dining room is shielded from the street with a curtain of bamboo plants in the windows, and if you peek around the thick stems, you'll get a scenic view of the Amoco gas station.

The menu offers a good selection of the traditional Thai dishes you'd find in American restaurants. Appetizers range from the typical spring rolls (two for $4.25) and skewered beef or chicken sate ($5.95) to tod man pla, which is billed as "the most famous Thai dish -- minced fresh fish and shrimp beaten with Thai curry sauce, deep fried, and served with cucumber sauce" ($6.25).

Many of the soups combine ingredients including coconut milk, shrimp and other seafood. Most cost $3.25.

While Thai Restaurant lists a few dozen entrees on its menu, it manages to make the list more extensive by offering choices including shrimp, duck, beef, chicken, vegetables and tofu for most dishes. The wide range of dishes-to-order vary in price depending on the ingredients requested, making it possible to get any of several dozen dishes for $7.95 or $8.95 if you choose the least expensive option. The most expensive options, which include shrimp and duck, cost up to $12.95.

The entrZe-to-order list includes curries, which come in a range of colors and varieties, as well as stir fries. The curries, which pack a kick, are served in ceramic bowls alongside a cup of rice. I generally find myself with leftover curry sauce and will order more rice, which costs an additional $1 per bowl.

Stir fries combine various vegetables and sauces -- such as baby corn and mushrooms; pineapple and curry sauce; and basil and green peas with a mint-flavored sauce -- with your choice of meat or extra vegetables.

Under noodles and rice, you can find pad thai ($9.95), drunken noodles ($10.95 to $12.95) and fried rice ($7.95 to $12.95). Although not my top choice, the fried rice has earned rave reviews from several of my friends.

Thai Restaurant also offers a handful of a la carte "house specials," most of which are seafood dishes. This includes sautZed shrimps, scallops and squid (about $14.95) and sautZed roast duck ($13.95).

I like this restaurant because it is convenient and inexpensive: It's the type of place I can go if I just don't feel like cooking dinner. The ambience is casual but pleasant, and the dining room is dimly lit, decorated in traditional Asian-restaurant style. While I wouldn't recommend eating here if you want to get dressed up, Thai Restaurant is a good everyday-type dining experience.