Ploi Thai, East Rutherford

Ploi Thai's signature dishes, such as the chicken satay or curry-pasted salmon, draw their inspiration from northern and central Thailand, but its chefs cook them up using local ingredients and seasonings while eschewing questionable additives like MSG. Since the restaurant is BYOB, diners can tote along their own wine or beer complement the spread. Inside the dining room, colorful, low-slung lights illuminate the handful of tables that are strewn across the restaurant's pale hardwood floors, and geometric cutouts and sprays of orchids punctuate cobalt walls.