In a hillbilly town in southern Indiana, there lies a Thai restaurant inside a tow-truck business next to some railroad tracks, and it's been there at least 25+ years.
The Competition Is Not Fierce 🤷
Ever since I can remember, the only other non-Mexican foreigner that existed anywhere near my home in southern Indiana was a Thai woman that had a little cafe on the side on her husband's tow-truck business. She hasn't been back to Thailand in at least 30 years, and has not one single Thai friend to speak her language with.
Her children, all born in the USA, don't speak Thai, and her English is not good, so she's been culturally and linguistically isolated for years and years. Every time I see her, she talks my head off and laments about how she misses the Southeast Asian lifestyle.
It breaks my heart that she can't travel or take time off work, but this is "the American way of life" as she said herself. She mentioned in Thailand she used to take a vacation every few weeks, but in the USA she has never had one. Her little cafe sits on the outskirts of a farmtown with a couple thousand residents, but has somehow become a hidden gem through the years.
Mini Cars Are Street Legal 🚗
When we pulled up, I intended to take a picture of the exterior of the building, but several people were standing outside, and you don't want to be a guy wearing a turban photographing rednecks without permission in southern Indiana. I did however, see an old banana-colored Lincoln Town Car and super small Chinese electric microcar. These little cars and other golf cart-ish type rides have become street legal in many farmtowns within Indiana.
Let's Go In 🥡
This sign on the exterior of the pole barn hasn't been updated since the first meal was served, and the sun damage certainly shows that.
As soon as I came in, the concrete floors and poor lighting greeted me, it was a very nostalgic feeling, nothing has changed here in such a long time. The owner was in the back, too busy to chat with me, so I took a seat and placed an order with her son.
My Dad ordered chicken curry and I ordered tofu larb, my favorite dish. Cooks make tofu larb in so many different ways, so it's something I like to use to test a new restaurant. Many Thai restaurants in the USA don't put herbs in larb, which would be a sin in Thailand, but many 'Mericans can't eat herbs or strong flavors.
Let's Eat 🍴
When I got my food, I immediately noticed how unclean the plate was, and I had to scrape some dried food off the back of my spoon, but I've learned to overlook things like this after living in Cambodia for so many years. I can now even pull a full strand of hair out of my food and continue eating, and once upon a time this used to ruin a meal for me.
The rice was cold too, but all in all the larb was better than most I've had in American Thai restaurants. She used to fry the tofu first, something I always do when I make larb, but nowadways things have become simpler, I can't blame in her old age though.
Considering the standard of food where I live though, this is probably the best meal you can get within 50km, so I hesitate to complain. After all, she's only one of maybe five or six locally owned restaurants, and we don't need to lose another one. Open secret though, @sreypov makes the best tofu larb!!
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It must be really sad for the owner to be here all alone. I never knew that Americans don't like strong spices. Hahaha.. That means there won't be a 3X super spicy fried chicken like the ones in Mcdonald's Malaysia.
Hahaa.. Usually for me, If I see a strain of hair in my food, maybe a piece of stapler or sometime a small insect in my drink, I continue eating. The only time, I ask for a change is unless there is a rat or lizard fried inside. Is this place popular? Usually how many eateries are nearby your place? I think Sarawak has lots and lots of eateries.. hahha..
Spicy for most Americans is a generous dash of black pepper. This place is still popular, but not like it was in the 20 years ago in the glory days. I live in the countryside between two small towns, one with 9,000 people and another with 3,000 people. Between these two places there might be 15 locally owned eateries, all of them are Mexican restaurants with the exact same recipes, "Chinese buffets", or egg and bacon American cafes. Thai Chow really stands out with competition like this.
I put Chinese in quotes because the food the Chinese prepare for us in the USA is hardly authentic, but they are smart and cater to American tastes, make everything sweeter, saltier, and less spicy, less herbs, less vegetables, more meat, more guns and bullets 🤪.
I think that @mehmetfix will continue eating his most favorite chicken even if he sees some foreign object inside! 😆😅
Here's a !PIZZA on behalf of @savvyplayer for the PIZZA lover! 😁
How sad the story of a woman without having a chance to be back in her hometown.
To be honest, I do not like unclean dishes. It ruins my appetite. Any restaurant should see to it the cleanliness of the establishment with the place, dishes and the foods.
Even at home, I am telling my siblings and nieces to wash the cleanly. Because sometimes I can smell the dishwashing soap.
For sure @spreypov is your favourite chef especially she cooks the best tofu larb. 😍
Yes, it's true there is no excuse for lack of cleanliness. Even when my family I shared tiny rental rooms in Cambodian without space for a table or proper kitchen, we ate on the spotless floor from spotless dishes like poor kings and queens. It's a matter of pride, and as a cook myself, I know the feeling inside she must have that makes her stop caring about these issues. I wish I could drop her off in Thailand on my way back to Cambodia. You're right, tofu larb is waiting for me in Cambodia.
For Asean countries, that restaurants looks clean. You can see the worse location of the restaurant of food stall than that?
This is my favorite place to have a coffee in the day. There are many people who eat at this place. Look, the left side of the counter is written " WC". WC is a public toilet. Haha, but we enjoy the coffee and the food there. We sometimes think about the smell form the WC but it does not matter ... ☕☕☕
Looks can be deceiving, 99% of the restaurants I've eaten at in Cambodia don't even have hot water, but I never found food stuck to my spoon. I eat at cafes like the one in your photo all around the world, and this is often where the best food comes from. No matter how a place looks, the food can be hygienic or unhygienic, it's all about attention to detail.
I come from a restaurant background, so I pay attention to these kinds of things. My restaurant in Cambodia was put together for only $500, but we never sent out dirty dishes and silverware to customers, that's something that shouldn't be overlooked.
I saw this once. It is a long and wide car. Bigger than most sedan car is Malaysia
That is sad...
But it is the sacrifice that she's made for her kids, so that they will have a better life than her.
That is a sign that you are more Asean than Aseans 😁
My mom once had a similar car when I was young, and it was yellow too. We called it the "banana boat." I think she questions every day whether or not coming to the USA was a better decision, and I know that must be tough for her.
Sidenote - the best part is when you discover the hair already halfway down your throat, so you pull it out by tugging on the end and you can feel the hair scratching your throat on the way back out. 😁 Then you continue eating like nothing happened.........ASEAN BOSS!!!
USA does not always bring success.
Hopefully in the future Thai Chow can have a better and successful shop. And the owner can take a vacation and return to his country as a successful person.
When I talk with her I sense she has regrets about leaving Thailand, but because her husband, kids, and grandkids aren't interested in her country, she's never taken them on holidays or anything. I think at the very least she'd like her family members to be a little more in touch with the Thai side of their DNA.
one day there will be children, grandchildren or maybe great-grandchildren who are curious about their mother's country of origin. And will find out who their relatives are there. hope so
I've never seen a microcar before. They look cute, and if you arn't driving long distances, why not?
Is Southern Indiana becoming eco-conscious, or do people buy micro-cars for the convenience?
The local laws prevent them from driving on any highways, but they can cross a highway. I think this golf-cart craze is more about convenience than anything, and these side-by-side trail cars can be used too, and many locals already those for hunting or their farms. Maybe someday tuk-tuks will be road legal in the USA, that'd be a happy day for me.
I can now even pull a full strand of hair out of my food and continue eating, and once upon a time this used to ruin a meal for me.
Bravo for you, you are a tough cookie! I can't imagine doing this but life can teach you many things and if you are super hungry then it really does not matter
I've seen a lot of things in my years in Cambodia, and I've eaten at some questionable locations, so I am partially responsible, but I have found everything from rubber bands to cockroach legs and even half of a seasoning packet in my food.
Phewww you have a tough stomach
That seems unfortunate, hope the quality of food gets better there in the future. That minicar looks awesome though, never really seen anything like it before.
I hate to say it won't be as she's getting too old to keep her standards, and none of her kids or grandkids speak Thai, love cooking, or have any connection to Thailand at all. I was amazed by the minicar too, apparently it's Chinese and cost $7,000 new. That seems a bit expensive considering one can find a good used Toyota Camry here for $4,000.
That's sad to hear. Wow, that's really expensive for such a small car, but it just depends on their preference I guess, if they like a mini car that costs more than an actual car, go for it.
Very true, I assume the long-term upkeep costs are surely cheaper than maintaining a car too.
Is it Toyu larb?
It looks delicious, I am not vegetarian, I always eat pork larb or chicken larb. I like this menu.
Have a good meal.
Tofu larb is my favorite dish, but I know it is normally made with ground pork. All the Thai cooks in the USA are afraid to use herbs because most Americans don't like them, so sad 😪. The flavors just aren't the same here.
Olden days restaurant shine the glorious. Maybe not these I guess. Hopefully she got a new assistance to help her out though. Or perhaps her kids?
Her grandson is helping her now, but he is young and not so passionate about Thai food, but I think it is he who will take when she retires. I worry for the future of this restaurant.
Yeah same I also worry about the future of this restaurant as make it until today is not an easy journey. Would be sad if everything goes off 🥲
It's seems like delicious. And your right instead of complaining be thankful with it you've already said it, you don't want to lose it anyway.
Yes, very true. I was more glad to see her than anything else, we always have good talks.
Continue with your good friendship. Thank you always for the response. 😊
It sounds like you enjoyed the visit more than the food? Hopefully she can make it through this tough time, so far so good 🙌
She really needs to retire, and I know she wants it. But I also think her restaurant is her pride, and she still has no family member that is passionate enough about cooking to take over. If my wife and kids would've got American visas, we were going to try and work out a deal with her, because we would've lived in the USA for 6 months a year for 3 years until they had American passports.
Since our US immigration was denied, I never told her about this idea, I'm thankful I didn't build up false hopes. Cambodia is easier for me to return to now than them coming to the USA, so now this is our goal, and we will reopen our restaurant in Cambodia somewhere eventually.
Maybe you will get your Christmas miracle yet, never give up :) ... If it's not meant to be, do you have good enough Internet to spend the day with them on a computer at least???
My mom's house has internet, a short drive from where I rest my head. As for me though, I only have a hotspot with my phone plane, the 10GB limit was hit after less than a week, and I just can't do my Hive stuff from a phone or tablet, I'm a sit down and Hive at a desk on a computer kind of person, so I have to come to my mom's house every day to connect with you all.
hi friend @justinpark the restaurant with the lion cub looks simple, is the food served quite good, only you know
It used to better many years ago, but the owner likes to joke that in Thailand nobody would let her cook because she always burned the rice. In the USA she became a cook, and she learned how to cook by watching Thai videos from the USA, but that 30+ years ago before YouTube, so I assume she bought some VHS tapes that taught her how to cook Thai food.
You have to be careful with the health and safety, but the food is incredible.
Very true, especially in the USA, because the health department can give you a bad rating or close your place.
My local Thai restaurant is called Chow Thai. How coincidental 😉
I'm sure there are more variations of this out there, the name is just too catchy.
looks delicious😋
Looks can be deceiving sometimes.
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One of the things I still don't like and because I'm curious about the things on the table is the dirty things or the cutlery.
It's a big turn-off for me, especially as a cook myself. I think it shows a lack of pride and attention to detail, and that makes one wonder what bigger issues could be going on......
I agree with you. We're the same. If possible, if using another ingredient from the bottle, put it back in place and wipe. I'm like that in the kitchen that my wife can't do. hahaha.
You share some pretty good lunch break meals with us, but you travel a lot and eat at many different places, so I'm sure just like me you've had some experiences like this in Thailand too. I also don't like confrontation, and it's not easy for me tell the cook something is wrong with the food. I would rather just not come back in the future.
The food was not that good, I mention it in the post. The pictures are only half of the story, the text tells the other half.
I hope the starts to taste good again soon. The USA should've given my family visas and we could've brought some flavor to this bland place.