With awesome vegan options (finally, no fish sauce!) and a brightly lit, colorful setting, AppeThaizing on Crouse Avenue is the next big thing. Even on weekdays at off-peak hours, the restaurant is packed. People sit at orange and green tables, surrounded by art describing some of the spices used in Thai cuisine. It’s rare to find a place that caters to businessmen in suits and college kids in sweatpants, but everyone is welcome at AppeThaizing.

This joint offers traditional Thai dishes, like red and green curries, drunken noodles, and Pad Thai, with vegan options for many of the dishes. The price of each entrée ranges between $8 and $12, and the amount of food makes it well worth it.

I was so excited to see a vegan option for Pad Thai, something I hadn’t been able to eat because it usually contains non-vegan ingredients. I expected it to be underwhelming, but I was so wrong. It tasted exactly like I remembered it; rice noodles with tangy tamarind sauce, a hint of earthy peanut flavor, and fried tofu.

I also had the red curry with extra vegetables and rice. Now, I consider myself a curry expert, and I was skeptical that good, authentic curry could exist in such a modern setting. Again, I was surprised at how amazing this dish was. The flavors of the creamy coconut milk blended well with the super-spicy red curry paste. The curry was full of red peppers, baby corn, basil, broccoli, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms, some of my favorite vegetables that are often found in Thai cooking.

AppeThaizing is a great place for lunch between classes, and is conveniently located right behind Marshall Street. Can we also comment on how clever the name is? Go here if you’re looking for a fresh take on classic Thai dishes!

If you go:

AppeThaizing

727 S. Crouse Ave., Syracuse, NY; (315) 295-2200; www.appethaizing.com.

Type of food: Thai

Hours: Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m; weekends, 4 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Sit Down/Take Out/Both: Both

Cost: $$

Alcohol: No