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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