Zabb City and its Woodside namesake are Isaan restaurants (or Isan, or Esan), rooted near Thailand's Northeast border with Laos. Here, as back home, most dishes display a straightforward preparation and presentation, but the spice level in New York is considerably muted. From the Queens outlet, the green papaya salad called som tum (top photo; $7.50) was flavored with salted crab, plus chili and a satisfying sourness of lime. (By contrast, a similar som tum I sampled in Vientiene, Laos, gave me the hiccoughs after one mouthful; it was so hot that not only did I leave half of it behind, but it woke me urgently at 4:00 a.m.)
From the West Village location, grilled beef (bottom photo; $8.95) was a stereotypical "stick with the basics" appetizer; beef labb (or laab, or larb; $7.95) though classified as a salad, was mainly minced meat. Also at the table: a "fresh roll" ($6.95) exhibited crisp, clean herbal flavors; green curry with pork ($9.95) and chicken in ginger sauce ($9.95) were fine.
Zabb City
244 East 13th St. (Second-Third Aves.)
(one of two locations)
212-529-8770