Alexandria, VA: Sam Phao Means "Stuff Your Pie Hole With Great Food For Little Money"

Sam Phao Thai Cuisine

1019 King Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

Old Town Alexandria

Phone: (703) 548-3736

Website: samphaothaicuisine.com

To start, I love Thai food, so I appreciate good Thai when I taste it. Next, comparing the DC area to Lawrence, Kansas is like comparing Dom Perignon to Andre, "not gonna do it, wouldn't be prudent", particularly when it comes to restaurants and prices. Lawrence restaurant options are bleak at best, hardly a decent restaurant in town, but DC has an abundance of excellent restaurants and they ain't cheap compared to the Midwest.

Enter Sam Phao, a small place in central Old Town Alexandria. I checked several menus in Old Town after a day at Mount Vernon and the prices in Alexandria (for "average" food) were not cheap. The $$ options on Yelp were running $20-$30 for an entree and we did not really want to blow another C-note for dinner (my blog is named "TravelValue" after all), then I saw Sam Phao. Their prices were very reasonable and the reviews excellent, so I hit "Directions" and off we went.

The ground floor room we entered was very small, so we were taken upstairs to a larger dining room and a table for two by the window. For starters, we ordered a Chicken Satay ($5.95) and a Crispy Wonton ($4.95). There were four large skewers of chicken satay along with the peanut sauce, cucumber relish and four 1/4 pieces of toast. The satay and peanut sauce were yummy and the toast a novelty, but it made it easy to get the chicken, peanut sauce and relish all on a fork. The six wonton had a savory minced chicken inside of the crispy fried wrapper as well as sweet and sour sauce and cucumber relish for dipping. They were excellent as well ... what a great start!

For mains, my wife got the Pad Thai “J” ($10.95), thin rice noodles and mixed vegetables stir-fried with egg, bean sprouts, scallions, tofu, and crushed roasted peanuts. I ordered the Yellow Curry ($13.95) with beef, potatoes, carrots, and onion, all of them my favorites are a rare find in one dish. I was not wild about the Pad Thai because of the egg (which is optional), but it was massive and my wife loved it. The yellow curry was divine, one of the best curries i have had in a long, long time. There was plenty o' beef, big chunks of potato, large slices of carrot, and pieces of onion along with the white rice. The curry sauce was an incredible combination of hot spiciness along with a very slightly sweet aftertaste, so I dumped the rice in the bowl of curry, instead of the other way around, and delightfully spooned the contents into my pie hole until gone ... HOOAH!

At $40, including tax, for two appetizers and two entrees, we could not have been more pleased. The prices rival those of similar, but inferior, restaurants in Lawrence, so in Alexandria and the DC area, this place was THE BOMB.

CombatCritic Gives Sam Phao 9 Bombs Out Of 10, A Rare And Near Perfect Rating ... More Bombs Are Better Of Course!

Nine Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie





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Title: Alexandria, VA: Sam Phao Means "Stuff Your Pie Hole With Great Food For Little Money"

Key Words: Sam Phao Thai Cuisine, Sam Phao, Sam, Phao, Thai, cuisine, food, curry, Alexandria, VA, Virginia, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: OOH-RAH! = "U.S. Marine Expression Of Enthusiasm"

Alexandria, VA: I Shall Not Tell A Lie ... Mount Vernon Is Overpriced And The Employees Are Rude

George Washington’s 
Mount Vernon

3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy

Alexandria, VA 22121
Phone: (703) 780-2000
Website: mountvernon.org


A bit too commercial and expensive ($20 each) for my taste, and the two employees we managed to talked to were arrogant, speaking down to us like we were morons. 

The first was the guy at Guest Services. Arriving at 3pm (they close at 5pm), I asked "Is two hours going to be enough time to see everything?", to which he replied, "Well, I guess it's going to have to be, isn't it." With no clear indication of where we were supposed to exit the building to visit the site, I then asked where we were supposed to go. Without a word and a look on his face like "isn't it obvious idiot?", he pointed to our right.

The second was a woman by the name of Rachel T. who was controlling the line for the mansion tour. Neither the ticket agent nor the wise guy at Guest Services bothered telling us that there was a time printed on our ticket for entry to the mansion, so when we arrived to get in line she told us "you have to come back at the time on your ticket". I mentioned

that "it would have been nice if someone had told us there were specified times on our tickets so we could have better planned our itinerary and not walked all the way up here for nothing", to which she replied "oh, they told you when you bought your ticket, you probably weren't listening". I spent 20+ years in the Air Force, leading men and women in combat, so I know how to listen and follow orders, but rather than argue with this ignorant, unprofessional witch, I simply replied "whatever" and we walked away.

The iconic mansion is not overly large, but impressive nonetheless, sitting high atop a bluff overlooking the Potomac River about 15 miles south of Washington DC. It was almost the only place that had people there to explain the extensive history. For a $20 entry, I expected quite a bit more service and information.

Most of the exhibits are static. The various outbuildings, with the exception of the tomb and blacksmith shop were staged with furniture, coaches, and farm implements and a board with information to read, but you were left with no other information, not even an audio tour included in the price. There is an education center at the end of the tour with displays, videos, and a museum, but not a single employee in site to explain or answer questions. Very odd.

The grounds are nice and the setting on the Potomac historic, but I was not that impressed with the experience although the Washington's home is definitely worth a visit. Too bad it is managed by a greedy non-profit that tolerates rude behavior by their employees.

CombatCritic Gives George Washington's Mount Vernon 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie





... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Title: I Shall Not Tell A Lie ... Mount Vernon Is Overpriced And The Employees Are Rude

Key Words: Mount Vernon, George Washington, mount, vernon, George, Washington, Virginia, DC, rude, Potomac, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, attraction, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation for Civilians: BOHICA = "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"