Eating for a cause

BANGKOK — Many Southeast Asian cities have one or two restaurants whose mission is to train disadvantaged children or support some other social cause.

In Bangkok, it's Cabbages and Condoms, named so because its founder, a Thai businessman, felt birth control in Thailand should be as easy to obtain as fresh vegetables.

All the profits go to the Population and Community Development Association, which provides family-planning services throughout Thailand as well as health care, HIV/AIDS prevention and school lunch programs.

Just off Sukumvit Road, one of the busiest downtown commercial areas, it's tucked inside what looks like a tropical jungle with waterfalls and trees decorated with white lights. Hung above the entrance is a giant condom fashioned from a swath of plaid material.

We're spoiled with excellent Thai food in Seattle, and we found the salmon with basil and chile sauce and the green curry eggplant mediocre. The kicker came after the meal.

Instead of after-dinner mints, the waitress brought two Honeymoon brand condoms.

Dinner for two was $30, high by Thai standards, but this place is good fun, and the money goes for a good cause. See www.cabbagesandcondoms.co.th. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded the PCDA a $1 million grant for its work.