Luamprabang

Definitely my favorite food cart on Library Mall. I come here at least once a week. While they’re doing construction on Library Mall, the food cart is located on Lake Street between State Street and Langdon.
I’ve had their BBQ chicken with papaya salad, the squash curry, the pad thai, and also the larp. The larp is a spicy yet herbaceous beef concoction served with sticky rice. The BBQ chicken balances nicely with the papaya salad it’s served with. I sometimes find papaya salad too heavy on the fish sauce, but that was not the case with their papaya salad. Although if you don’t like fish sauce at all, I wouldn’t order the papaya salad. The pad thai is a sizable portion for the price. The squash curry had deliciously soft squash and zucchini swimming in a coconut milk curry sauce on a bed of rice.
I have not had their avocado rolls, but I’ve heard such rave reviews. I just always get tempted by something else on the menu first. Next time the weather is nice, I’ll get them to share with a friend and enjoy them on Library Mall.

Ostensibly one of the favorites (if not THE favorite) on the Library Mall Food Cart court. I met a grad student from Thailand near me, and he wasn’t so hot on the Thai options in Madison. Neither am I. The price is right for lunch portions on the go (I imagine what makes the food carts popular), but the real winner is the avocado spring roll for $ 2.50. It’s a really meaty (vegetarian) roll about the size of your two fists together. It’s made on the spot so you can be prissy and ask for no mint (I didn’t taste mint, personally, but apparently other people do). Two spring rolls would be really fulling. The $ 5 bland pad thai is a meager portion in a styrofoam lunch container, and you can get «spicy» on the side (it’s very spicy). Anyway, it’s all about the double spring rolls, and even at that, I’d recommend Chipotle a block away instead for the extra three dollars, if you can afford it.