Basil Thai has always been one of the spiffier Thai restaurants in town, so it's not only logical that its new kid sister, Basil Canteen, follows suit. Located in the Landmark Building (sat the corner of Folsom and 11th streets, the former location of the Public), the restaurant is a two-story exposed-brick affair, with big windows that overlook the street. A communal table make sense here, as the menu is devoted to "snack, noodles and drinks," a casual assemblage of dish ranging from excellent rendition of larb (pictured), the Thai staple that combines minced meat (in this case, duck) with red onion, lime juice and fiery chili to the classic pad si ew, Sakhoo sai moo, sticky little dumplings with tapioca-skin-and-pork filling (with a similar tooth-sticking quality to that sweet Japanese Mochi) are a nice match with one of the eight beers offered, and we're particularly fond of kao moo dang' a meat three-way featuring sliced of sweet roated pork, nuggets of house-cured pork belly and coins of the Chinese sausage- all doused with the stair-anise gravy. Cheap dates take note: Only one item onthe menu cranks $12. Go ahead and splurge on the second round