Sala Thai - U Street, Washington, D.C.

Though united by their name and a penchant for serving spicy Southeast Asian cuisine, each Sala Thai restaurant blazes its own culinary trail. Some dishes, such as the kee mao—flat rice noodles sautéed in hot chilis—sate diners' hungers at all locations, and other bites can only be found in one place. To appease a variety of tastes, each location has a daily specials menu, which features entrees like Chu Chee Seafood, a medley of seafood in a signature coconut red curry.