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Getting to Thai Cafe if you live anywhere but Brooklyn is an adventure. It requires at least two subway lines and either jumping on the elusive G line or a mile-long walk through the predominantly Polish neighborhood of Greenpoint. After you pass endless Polish restaurants, you’ll come across the warmly-lit space, where a team of mostly Thai women whip up tasty, spicy dishes from a semi-open kitchen. The prices are so cheap you wonder if they know or care about inflation. You’re also inclined to try everything on the extensive menu, and there are some hidden jewels among the specials. They do justice to oft-maligned pad Thai, make a clean green papaya salad and ginger chicken, and serve up steaming bowls of curry noodles with shrimp. Service is so friendly it’s almost sisterly (or motherly, depending on your server). Paintings hang on the walls, top twenty hits play on the stereo, and the casual crowd make this spot worth a return trip. — Noria Morales

Green papaya salad, $4; steamed dumplings, $3.50; pad Thai, $6.95-$7.50; beef in coconut curry, $7.50