Soul Lao started out as a food truck some six or seven years ago. About two years ago they finally opened a brick and mortar location (on W 7th in St. Paul). They flashed upon my radar at the time but then I lost sight of them till long-time blog reader and commenter (and backchannel intel-provider), Jim Grinsfelder wrote me a note a few weeks ago to recommend them. Accordingly, we sallied forth two weeks ago, Saturday to finally check them out. We arrived shortly after opening time to discover that…they were randomly closed that day. We were disappointed but the day was not lost—we drove 10 minutes to the other side of W. 7th and had an excellent lunch at Hot Grainz. And this past Saturday we finally made it into Soul Lao. Was it worth the wait? Read on to find out.

Well, I am terrible at suspense: yes, it was very much worth the wait. This was an excellent meal. But before I tell you about all that, let me first describe the space a bit. One word for it is “tiny”. They can seat a max of about 20 diners. There’s one six-top, one five-top, one four-top and five or so counter seats by the window, looking out at the strip mall parking lot. Though small, the space is attractive and not cramped. We were a party of six. By arriving a few minutes before they opened for lunch at noon, we snagged the six-top. A good thing too as there was a steady stream of diners (plus many people picking up takeout) over the course of our meal.

Unlike at Hot Grainz, there are real printed menus here (though you can also do the QR code thing if you like). Ordering and payment happens at the counter—where you also pick up water—and the food is brought out to your table when ready. The menu is not over-large but nor is it super limited. There are six dishes listed under “Starters”, seven under “mains”, and another five under “House Specials”, which are also basically mains. Not everything listed on the menu was available, however—neither duck-centered house special was on the go that day. But there was still more than enough to entice us. I will say that the menu would feel more rounded out with some soups and curries. In their absence, we ended up with quite a bit of rice on our table. Some of this, it must be said, was due to non-optimal ordering on my part—but in my defense I was looking at the menu while listening to some juicy gossip.

What did we get? We started with an order of their OG Wings, which were just fantastic. Fresh from the fryer, these were the perfect combo of crisp and juicy and the seasoning was outstanding. Next to arrive were the Sen Mae Yai and the Gai Rolls. The Sen Mae Yai are described as a wide noodle dish but what showed up was more like a pancake. It was very good though, especially with the garlic fish sauce it came with. The gai rolls, with curry chicken in rice paper, were also quite good. Next up were three rice dishes in a row: Khao Mun Gai Tod (crisply fried and sliced chicken over chicken rice); a day’s special of Moo Pin (grilled pork) Fried Rice; and Naem Khao (crispy coconut rice with cured pork etc.). All were excellent and each was the favourite of at least one person at the table. A non-rice dish to end: Lao-Style Ribs, which feature long-marinated and charcoal-grilled short ribs (cut Korean galbi-style). This was served with a killer smoked tomato jeow and sticky rice.

For a look at the space, the menu and everything we ate, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down for thoughts on service, to see how much it all cost, and to see what’s coming next.

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Our food was brought out by one of the proprietors (I think) and we really appreciated his quick descriptions of all the dishes and recommendations on the best way to eat them. Service in general was very friendly and helpful. Very good food in an attractive, cosy setting with a nice vibe—what’s not to like? Some might say the price but $30/head for food of this quality (and quantity—we were all stuffed) is not something to complain about in these times. We’ll be back for sure (though again, I would love to see a few dishes in other genres join the menu).

Okay, what’s next from the Twin Cities? I’m not sure: we have no plans for this coming weekend. After two Southeast Asian meals in a row in St. Paul, perhaps we’ll branch out in a different (culinary) direction. Let’s see how it goes. Before the next Twin Cities report, however, I will have a few reports from some combination of Seoul, Delhi, Kyoto and New York. I had hoped to get a couple of these out in the past week but life came at me very fast on campus over the last several days.