"I have a lot of skepticism when trying out new Thai restaurants. I 've bookmarked this place for a long time now and have always wanted to give it a try, but just never got around to it. First off, I had no clue Rancho Santa Margarita was so far away from me. Rice and Spice is located in a strip mall where Pavilions is. It 's small and hidden so I had to drive around a bit before I actually found it. Once inside, I was surprised that it was pretty small and a little concerned when I saw the clientele. There was not one Asian person in sight not that it means anything especially in south OC). I was seated quickly and the server was very nice and polite. I was given a lunch menu and immediately I saw items I wanted to try. Here I was on my own and I didn 't want to just eat one item and write about it, so I ordered 2 items. I got the green curry $7.50 lunch/ $8.95 a la carte) and the Crying Tiger $8.95 lunch/ $10.95 a la carte), which is a grilled beef dish. The server will ask if you want a spring roll or salad with your dish and I said 'salad '. The server asked me how spicy I liked it and I said 'spicy '. Within a few minutes, complimentary soup was brought out. It tasted like hot and sour soup, but not like any Thai soup I 've ever had. It was thickened with corn starch and served piping hot which is a definite plus. When my 2 dishes arrived it looked huge. I immediately asked the server for some take out containers so I could put some of the food away before I dug into them. The Crying Tiger was superb. It was medium like I had requested and the flavors were amazing. The meat was well marinated and grilled perfectly. The accompanying sauce was also very tasty. It is a tart and spicy sauce with a sprinkling of rice powder. LOVED IT. Green curry with chicken was a tad too sweet for me and the sauce was very watery. Although I liked the ingredients in the curry it wasn 't spicy enough even though I had asked for spicy). The accompanying salad came with a peanut dressing on the side very nice) and a scoop of steamed rice. I saw other people eating pad Thai which looked awesome I can 't vouch for the taste) and the special Thai BBQ chicken. I 'm guessing if their green curry is watery, the other curries will be too, so unless you like watery curry, don 't order it. I would definitely come back again for the Crying Tiger if they weren 't so damn far from me! Service was awesome. When I asked the server to bring me a small container so I can put my sauce for the beef in there, he said he 'll make me a fresh one. My water was always refilled and he stopped by many times to see that everything was okay."
