By DCist contributor Josh Kramer

Who needs a cellphone camera when you have a pen and paper? Drawn to Flavor highlights local dishes and drinks in vivid watercolor. In these posts, Illustrator and journalist Josh Kramer tries to honor all the energy and creativity that goes into making food beautiful and delicious.

U St Thai restaurant DC Noodles (1412 U Street NW) originally opened in 2006, but closed for a year-and-a-half to undergo major renovations. Since reopening late last year, the sleekly redesigned restaurant has been offering favorites from its original menu of modern Thai dishes, along with a selection of new items.

At a recent media dinner, owner Sak Pollert shared dishes from the updated menu. He expressed the awkwardness that can come from reopening: “It’s like a second date,” Pollert said. “You hope the customer will like you again the second time.”

Two standouts from the dinner were the Stir Fry Beef Ragù and the Chili Mojito. In the noodle dish, wide rice noodles soak up the rich ragù, made with a tomato-tumeric soy sauce, white pepper, and cumin. Scrambled egg, carrot, and scallion are tossed with the noodles and beef in a Serrano pepper vinaigrette.

The Chili Mojito had a little kick to it from Thai chili-infused rum. Lime juice, mint, and ginger, along with a brown sugar syrup, make this a refreshing and spicy adaptation of the classic.

Beef ragu and chili mojito at DC Noodles. Illustration by Josh Kramer.