Lucky Buns Owner Plans to Open a Thai Papaya Salad Shop In NoMa

Alex McCoy, the Duke’s Grocery alum who sells internationally flavored burgers at Lucky Buns, will soon have a shop dedicated to the Thai food he’s showcased at various pop-ups through the years.

Washington City Paper reports that McCoy plans to open Som Tam, a small stall that will sell namesake papaya salads and khao soi from a converted ATM vestibule in NoMa (111 K Street NE) starting sometime this summer. McCoy tells the alt weekly he wants to serve the lunch crowd and stay open late into the night. The idea is to mimic the experience of visiting street stalls in Thailand.

According to a short menu shared with the outlet, there will be three types of salad that traditionally go heavy on fish sauce, lime, and chiles. One version features a chile vinaigrette, an Isaan (Northeastern Thai) style ratchets up the heat, and a “jungle style” incorporates rice noodles, sawtooth herbs, fermented fish, crab paste, and bamboo.

There will also be a prawn salad and beef and chicken variations of khao soi, curry soup made with egg noodles.

For about six months in 2016, McCoy ran a Thai pop-up called Alfie’s out of the Mothership pizza parlor in Park View. That building is now home to D.C.’s essential “Jew-ish” bagel shop, Call Your Mother. The chef, an avid traveler to Thailand, has run various late-night Thai pop-ups out of Lucky Buns and has long teased that Alfie’s could be revived in a future location.

NoMa residents who are already hankering for papaya salad can head over to the recently opened Laos in Town.

• Alex McCoy is Converting an ATM Vestibule in NoMa Into a Thai Street Food Stall [WCP]
• Devour Burgers From Around the World at Lucky Buns [EDC]
• Street Food from Scratch at the Alfie’s Pop-Up — Here’s the Menu [EDC]
• D.C.’s New Lao Restaurant Opens in NoMa [EDC]