Crystal Thani is a Thai joint named after a provincial capital city in northeast Thailand.

It replaces soul food spot Southern CookOut, which itself replaced Sushi Island.

The interior is large but relatively plain and dark, the main standout design feature a glowing triangle at the back of the restaurant.

Samosas ($4) come in an order of two, stuffed with chicken, beef, or veggies, and are served with a slightly spicy, smoky sauce.

Green mango salad ($12) combines batons of mango and red pepper with thickly sliced red onion, peanuts, coriander and a house dressing. Among other Thai staples like a spicy beef salad and salad rolls, the salad section also has options like apple pecan and Caesar.

Veggie pad thai ($13) is from the "Asian pasta" section of the menu. While it's bland, sweet and doesn't smack of the tamarind that typically goes into more traditional preparations of this dish, I do like the combination of veggies this comes with: broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower and more. Typical bean sprouts and crushed peanuts garnish.

Pad see ew starts at $14 and can be found in the same section, available with veggies, chicken, beef, seafood, shrimp, or a classic combo of chicken and shrimp. I think the take on this dish might be a little more successful than the pad thai, delivering those tangy, slippery, funky noodles I associate with pad see ew.

Khao soi is another noodle dish starting at $14, this one perhaps the most successful of all with its thick, spicy curry. It cradles egg noodles, green onions, coriander, onions and mushrooms along with your choice of chicken, beef, seafood or shrimp. Crispy egg noodles garnish, adding crunch.

Coconut sticky rice ($9) is served warm, almost hot, in a sizeable portion. It's also available with pineapple instead of mango.

Juices ($4) include mango, guava and lychee. Crystal Thani wasn't licensed at the time of my visit, but already had taps with options like Goose Island set up.

While this place may not necessarily be making many best of lists, the portions are fair for the prices and all warm dishes are served nicely piping hot.