an elephantine task....

High on the list of frequented places in the VCU area is Elephant Thai. I might even venture to half-say that it is one of the better Thai places I've been to in Richmond so far among the half dozen or so places tried. Surprisingly it doesnt come up often in discussions of the same, playing second fiddle to Mom's Siam, Thai Diner (too), Beauregards and the like. I think ET is actually quite good...(admittedly, several 'other' factors are playing into this observation - price, convenience etc). but it is a very decent eat. A sparse, simple decor, no frills food, low prices, an authentic taste etc... Now, countless visits in (99% for lunch), I finally get around to writing about it.
Oddly enough, despite a previous post about soups deciding my ratings for Thai places, I have only tried the soups here once (the Tom Yum - decent). I guess I just havent been trying soups on mostly hurried lunches. Most of the curries and chicken/beef dishes are very generic and quite good (safe) choices. The chicken basil and cashew nut have been standouts. I've also liked the Vegetarian Fried Rice (which is a good meal just by itself). Similarly, the noodles - pad see ew and the pad thai. I've always made it a point to ask for extra lemon/lime with my pad thai which they do and it does help jazz up the rather standard pad thai. I'm still searching for that elusive stellar pad thai !
Of course, all the dishes havent been quite great. For one, the pepper steak was terrible and quite tasteless. The jasmine rice does tend to be a bit dry at times. Also the shrimp options have been far less satisfying than the chicken and beef.
An option that I found useful several times was to get the spice rack on the side with a mild order. That has saved quite a few dishes for me which have otherwise tended to be rather overwhelming (drunken noodle jae - a culprit). The (rather sweet) Thai Iced tea can be an added savior on occasions such as these.

Most lunch entrees are less than $8 and a typical checks have been around $10-12 pp (with t&t)...ET is always packed at lunchtime and service can be a little spotty. Two of the wait staff who know me by name now (and there are a lot of lunch regulars) have been a bit more efficient :)....