The first time Marcus and I dined at
Elephant Jumps we had the entire restaurant to ourselves, and the ear of the owner, who proudly made suggestions from the menu. The tiny 32-seat Thai restaurant had recently opened in a strip mall off 495. At the time, we were on a Vietnamese and Korean food overload and finding a reliably tasty Thai place near our house in Falls Church was a must. After a few bites of the scallop with crispy summer basil, I said to Marcus, "I hope this place lasts. It's good." The Washington Post's
Tom Sietsema agreed, giving Elephant Jumps a positive review. Now instead of worrying about the restaurant staying in business, we have to worry about a 30-minute wait. Curse you Tom Sietsema.
At Elephant Jumps it's easy to fill up on appetizers. The crispy and light spring rolls, stuffed with vermicelli noodles, vegetables, and served with tangy pineapple sauce, were better than most spring rolls I've tried. I also enjoyed the beef salad, though, like many dishes coming out of the kitchen, it needed a bit more acid. The crispy papaya salad was differently delicious and a favorite of Sietsema as well. The menu lists other intriguing starters I haven't tried. On a recent visit, I caught a glimpse of the crispy flat bread shrimp and, more importantly, how the eyes of the diner brightened when he bit into it. That was enough endorsement for me: I'll order the dish next time.
At Elephant Jumps you are in charge of the heat that comes out of the kitchen. "Thai spicy or American spicy?" the owner, Songtham Pinyolaksana, asked during our first visit. With greedy grins, we went for "Thai spicy." He tried to talk us out of it, but we would hear none of it. What did we learn? Thai spicy isn't applied consistently across dishes. For the pad Thai, spicy means SPICY. As in nose running, eyes watering, ears burning, SPICY. And I'm no wimp when it comes to spice. However, at Elephant Jumps, I would recommend ordering the pad Thai American spicy as the heat in the Thai spicy version overshadowed the tamarind, peanuts---even the taste of the cilantro. On the other hand, the pad krapow pork was more sweet than spicy--too sweet for my taste. For this dish, I would request Thai spicy and give it a few extra squeezes of lime.
I never order dessert in a Thai restaurant, I must admit. The fried banana at Elephant Jumps makes me think I've missed out. Lightly fried and stuffed with sweet bananas, cheese, and then drizzled with dark chocolate, this dessert reminds me that bananas are an under recognized dessert ingredient in need of a publicist.
