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Sak Pollert will stock the shelves at the market below his long-standing 14th Street NW restaurant Rice with the novice Thai chef in mind. The Northern Thailand native recognizes that it can be overwhelming to enter an Asian grocery store and come face-to-face with hundreds of brands of fish sauce.
“It will be a well curated market,” he says. “We’ll pick what tastes the best because we’ve tasted them all, and we’ll narrow it down to essential ingredients.”
When Rice Market opens in about a year, it will carry everything from fresh seasonal herbs and chili paste to grab-and-go versions of dishes upstairs at Rice. “It will be whatever is popular on the menu, from noodles to curries,” Pollert says.
Customers can choose to sit down for a quick bite or bring food home. There will also be wine that pairs well with Thai food, plus local beer and beer from Thailand, Japan, and elsewhere in Asia.
Essentially, you will be able to head home with everything to make a curry and beer to match.
Rice, 1608 14th St. NW; (202) 234-2400; ricerestaurant.com