By DCist Food Writer Melissa McCart.

If you haven’t been to Rice, you might have heard that it’s tough to find, that it’s a bit New York, and that it’s too expensive.

None of which is true. Though the door is marked by a tiny nameplate on 14th Street between Q and Corcoran, it is more effective to look for a more visible landmark: the bright yellow sign for our favorite jazz haunt-slash-cafeteria, HR 57, right next door.

And, it’s not New York. For one, too many people are using forks instead of chopsticks. The playlist is too innocuous to feed the buzz. Furthermore, the servers, during our visits anyway, were neither rude — the stereotype of the New York server — nor particularly helpful in navigating the menu. They were brisk in taking orders, shy to offer suggestions, and prompt in delivering our food.

DCist has embraced other Zen-like spots recently. In this one, although we liked the teak tables and the exposed brick, it’s sterile enough to remind us of a trip to the day spa. That’s not all bad, but not necessarily what we are looking for at 14th and T when we’re hungry for dinner. We know spare is the point, as reinforced by owner Somsak Pollert’s Simply Home, but we’d like a little more character with our minimalism. NY Thai restaurants Kin Khao, and Brooklyn’s Joya have managed to incorporate both.