SoMa, San Francisco · restaurant
Purple hanging lanterns, orchids, and a room built around Chef Lalita Souksamlane's childhood cooking from Northeast Thailand and Laos — Lao Table has held down 2nd Street since 2016 with cuisine that's as personal as it is precise. The Crying Tiger Steak brings Snake River Farms kobe-style beef with tamarind-chili dip; the Larb Duck Pakxe arrives as a Pakxe-style spicy minced duck lettuce wrap with toasted rice powder. Friday runs all-day happy hour with style="overflow-x:hidden;width:100%;max-width:100%".50 oysters, which is not a bad reason to show up early.