Years ago, I told a coworker that The Astronomer and I had made reservations a solid month in advance to dine at Osteria Mozza. “What if you’re not in the mood for Italian on that day?” she responded. Her question was logical enough, but it caught me by surprise nevertheless. In all my years of calling for reservations and eating when the date arrived, I’d never once considered the possibility that I wouldn’t be in the mood to enjoy whatever fare I had planned on.
In fact, I’ve always been hungry and ready for just about everything until a recent sushi date with my girl Lien. We had made plans to dine at her favorite spot Kiriko weeks in advance. However, when the day rolled around, I found myself not the least bit in the omakase mood. On this particular evening, I craved something filling, unfussy, cheap, and very spicy.
So, rather than meet for fresh and delicate fishes on the Westside, we jammed it to Thaitown instead. After all, it is the epicenter of all that is filling, unfussy, cheap, and very spicy.
Lien arrived at Ruen Pair first and snagged a comfy booth fit for four toward the back of the restaurant. The extra-large table proved to be quite useful as the evening progressed because we ordered a whole lot of food.
The first dish to arrive was the green papaya salad ($6.95). The heap of shredded papaya was pleasantly snappy and dressed in a well-balanced lime juice and fish sauce vinaigrette. Tomatoes, peanuts, and dried shrimps mingled harmoniously amongst the greenery.
