Best Thai restaurant

With its well-meant motto -- "Thai flavors, American tastes" -- Brown Sugar Café does itself a slight disservice, for it doesn't simply cater to the LCD (Least Curious Diner). A ridiculously lengthy menu goes well beyond satay and pad Thai (the country version of which is nonetheless notable here); while wonderfully doughy chive dumplings and honey pork give new meaning to the term "comfort food," heat hounds can find comfort in great drunken noodles and chili fish. What's more, the Comm Ave location even boasts something resembling décor.

As does Sweet Chili, an Inman Square eatery that dips into Korean and Japanese as well as Thai culinary territory. That said, it doesn't venture far past the classics in any genre, and nor should you. Instead, grab a good old piña colada or mai tai from the pretty little bar, sit back, and let the dishes go down easy. The minced chicken salad known as lab gai is quite savory here, as is the similar gra prao; rad na and house-fried rice are rich and soothing. In the end, you'll happily chalk Sweet Chili up to the Thai equivalent of a roadside diner.

Brown Sugar Café, 1033 Comm Ave, Boston, (617) 787-4242; 129 Jersey Street, Boston, (617) 266-2928. Sweet Chili, 1172-1178 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, (617) 864-4500; 470-472 Mass Ave, Arlington, (781) 646-2400.