Pad Kra Prow

Pad krapow is what Thailand eats when it wants lunch fast: meat stir-fried hard with holy basil, garlic and fresh chilies, spooned over jasmine rice and crowned with a fried egg whose edges have gone lacy in the oil. This small open kitchen on Cortelyou Road is built around that one plate, made to a recipe chef Jintana learned from her mother.

Choose the protein — there are many, from minced chicken to steak — and ask for the egg runny so the yolk sauces the rice. The rest of the menu reaches into Isan and the north, with khao soi and a handful of northeastern dishes, and most of the neighborhood treats it as a weeknight takeout standby.