Thursday Thai lunch.

Our friend K drove in from downtown this afternoon and we went to a local Thai restaurant for lunch. My husband and I used to go there on a regular basis, but we had stopped for some reason. Not that there's anything wrong with this restaurant... we just got into the habit of driving to other restaurants farther away for Chinese food, or downtown for Thai food.

This little Thai place is tucked into a corner of a tiny shopping center not far from here, and that's where we decided to eat today with K. As soon as we walked in there, it was as if we had been there yesterday. The waitress who was always there in the beginning is still there, and she came up to us to say that it had been too long since she had seen us. Before we went into the restaurant, I peeked at the little tree just outside the front door-- the owner burns incense at the base of that tree every morning before he opens for business... he had told me once that this custom brings luck, dispels bad spirits, and calms the heart. At the base of the tree were the ends of the incense sticks, so I knew he was still shooing away bad spirits and calming his heart.

The restaurant is small, and they have soft music playing which is always soothing and easy to listen to... background music with a purpose, rather than "elevator music." The tables are covered with bright white tablecloths, the plates and utensils are perfectly set, the napkins expertly folded. Everything in that restaurant shines and glistens with cleanliness. "Pride of place," as my Uncle Mino would call it.

For such a small restaurant, their menu is extensive, and K couldn't decide what to order. She loves Thai food, and there are many larger Thai restaurants in the downtown area that she goes to every week. Plus she had traveled to Thailand, so she's not exactly a novice with a Thai menu. When she didn't see what she wanted on their menu, she just asked the waitress if the cook would make something for her--- some sort of eggplant dish in a green curry sauce, I think it was.

Before the main course, they bring you a very small cup of soup, then another plate comes with a small salad and either a fresh Spring Roll or a fried one, depending on which you asked for. Then comes the main course... each course is carefully timed so you're finished with one plate before they bring you the next. Between the wonderful music, the white tablecloths, and the efficient service, you would be perfectly content to just sit there for hours and talk.

Now that we've gone back to this Thai restaurant, it seems ridiculous to drive all the way to the other side of the Gulf Freeway to the large Chinese restaurant that is always too cold, too noisy, and too hard to get to because of all the road work on the side of the Freeway.

Before we left today, K and the waitress were speaking to one another in the Thai language, complete with folded hands and bowed heads.