Galanga

Chopsticks? Broccoli in the curry? These are red flags to purists—but it would be a mistake to write off sleek little Galanga. Ambient drum bass and menu oddities like lychee fried rice, merely veil the real deal. Tell your server that you want spice, and there’ll be no pandering. The seafood salad of mussels, shrimp and squid is dressed with just the right amount of sugar and lime, a perfect foil for the slow, creeping heat. Curries, too, are appropriately rich with coconut milk and properly topped with the shredded wild-lime leaves that are all too often omitted in Thai restaurants.