Chow Thai Restaurant

Owners Sam and Vinnie Virasin's initial foray into offering upscale Thai cuisine to the masses has been a hit for more than a decade. The restaurant's success has allowed the Virasins to open Mango Thai, a fast-casual eatery. However, Chow Thai's popularity has hardly waned. The most lauded menu selection offers customers a sampler of the kitchen's offerings, taking its cue from a Japanese lunch form, the bento box. The lunch combos -- because, really, that's what they are -- come with ice cream. The appetizer sampler offers a concise overview of the restaurant's starters, and can be seen on many tables during dinner service. Naturally, pad Thai is a frequently requested entrée, but so is the more authentic white pepper and garlic seafood platter (pan-seared shrimp and scallops with jasmine rice or udon noodles, broccoli and snow peas).