Closed Easter

True Thai Restaurant will be closed Easter Sunday, March 31. We will resume regular hours Monday, April 1.

Have a happy Easter!

Even fake Thai condiments are better than ketchup!

I think Americans are most fascinated by foreign food when it is foreign food that was created by Americans. When I came to the USA, your average American thought Chow Mein was the most popular dish served in China. Fans of this blog know better, but did you know that Wikipedia's article on Chow Mein lists it as a regional dish popular (in this order) in American, Canadian, South Asian, Caribbean and Nepalese cuisine. Please note that China is not on that list.

Sriracha sauce is another good example. Yes, there is a Sriracha, Thailand. No, they don't make hot sauce in plastic bottles with a rooster on the front and a green cap on top. The Huy Fong Foods factory that makes Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce is just outside of Los Angeles. California, not Thailand or India.

When True Thai opened, only our Indian customers asked for Sriracha sauce, but we have lots of South Asian customers so we kept it on hand. I think of it as Tabasco sauce for Asians, but now even Tabasco is working on a Sriracha sauce! Over the years, we have noticed more and more American customers asking for it. Now there is a video of 27 ways to cook with Sriracha.

The truth is, Americans are crazy for Sriracha sauce. College students put it on potato chips which, in my opinion, would make the chips taste better but really you're better off not going there. Order some Palace Style Wontons instead: "fried wontons hand tossed in a sassy, sweet and tangy sauce, then drizzled with fiery Sriracha sauce." That's item number A5 on True Thai's appetizer menu.

So feel free to ask your server for Sriracha sauce, we'll be glad to bring you out a bottle — you betcha!

P.S. I do not think I could walk in these Sriracha Stilettos from HOT Couture, but I would still love to have a pair. 

Kiss Kiss

Any hour now several Thai couples will set the world's record for the longest kiss. I think maybe the Guardian is being a little sarcastic in this video report, but I think all of the contestants are very sweet.

You can be in love without setting a record for longest kiss, but you cannot stay in love if you don't take your sweetheart somewhere nice on Valentine's Day. True Thai is there for you and your loved one! Call 612 375-9942 for a reservation now.

UPDATE! The new kissing record is 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds!

Top Ten

True Thai just made another Top Ten list, but not one you'll read about. We just signed up with Living Social to take online takeout and delivery orders. We did not publicize this other than to put a small link on the True Thai Restaurant front page but already we are getting dozens of orders a day through this system and, according to Living Social, that puts us in the Top Ten for Twin Cities restaurant orders on their website.

So in addition to making deliveries, True Thai now takes online orders. Or, if you like, you can come in, sit down and we'll serve you food and beverages brought directly to your table.

Open New Year's Eve!

True Thai Restaurant is open tonight, New Year's Eve, but will be closed tomorrow, New Year's Day. We will be open again at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, January 2, 2013.

Have a safe and fun New Year's!

Ped's 40th birthday

Ped's parents are in Laos this Christmas visiting the village of Ped's birth, so we did not have a gathering at True Thai this year.

Christmas day would have been Ped's 40th birthday, and I thought about him a lot. I know Ped's mother was thinking of him, and how she gave birth to him as bombs were being dropped on their village, and how she carried him across the Mekong River when he was only a few days old.

People still stop every night to look at Ped's shrine and to read about him. I still celebrate his life and mourn his passing.

Christmas orchids from Amy Senser

Closed for the Holidays!

True Thai Restaurant will be closed all day Monday, Christmas Eve, December 24th, and Tuesday, Christmas Day, December 25th, so our employees can be with their families.

We will reopen at 11 a.m., Wednesday morning, December 26th.

True Thai Restaurant will be open December 31st, New Year's Eve, and closed January 1st,  New Year's Day.

Please accept our wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Delivery charges

Deliveries have been going very well. So well that we were surprised to find out that even with a $25 minimum order we weren't making enough money to cover vehicle expenses.

Effective immediately, there will be a $3 charge per delivery on all delivery orders. And, as always, the drivers appreciate your gratuities.

Thank you for ordering True Thai!

'Tis the season

I gave Korey a lot of power when I let him reorganize True Thai, and then I took a week off. So I was a little surprised that when I stopped in today it was already Christmas at True Thai.

You may think that Thai people do not celebrate Christmas, but you did not grow up just a couple of blocks from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (อาสนวิหารพระนางมารีอาปฏิสนธินิรมล), the largest church in Thailand. Originally the site of a chapel built in 1711, it has been rebuilt and expanded many times.

Thailand is very Buddhist, but Buddhists are very tolerant of other faiths and I was never ever discriminated against because I was Catholic. Of course I lived in a Catholic neighborhood and went to a Catholic school, so I spent most of my time with other Catholics. But our neighborhood was not a ghetto because there are no laws about where Thai Catholics can live or work.

So yes, some people will try to say Christmas is not a Thai holiday, and is not True Thai. The people who live in the Archdiocese of Chanthaburi would disagree with you. Respecting the beliefs of others is very, very True Thai.

Another reason why True Thai likes Christmas? Ped would have been 40 years old this Christmas. For me, Christmas is now about remembering the past and old friends. At True Thai, we like Christmas a lot.

Thinking about your health?

Since I am a public health nurse, I think about health a lot. I exercise, I watch what I eat and I pay attention to what my doctors tell me. But I also know that even all this isn't always enough. It seems like every day we learn something new about our bodies, something that sometimes changes everything.

A new study from the University of Texas Health Science Center reveals shocking new findings about diet colas. They may be bad for your kidneys, they can mess up your metabolism and — you are not going to believe this — diet sodas can make you obese!

The more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming overweight. Downing just two or more cans a day increased waistlines by 500%. Why? Artificial sweeteners can disrupt the body's natural ability to regulate calorie intake based on the sweetness of foods, suggested an animal study from Purdue University. That means people who consume diet foods might be more likely to overeat, because your body is being tricked into thinking it's eating sugar, and you crave more.

Wow. Even more wow, if you mix diet soda with alcohol you will get "drunker, faster." Diet soda can rot your teeth and can impact your reproductive system. Read the article because it is kind of scary.

I cannot believe I'm saying this, but sugar would be better for you. True Thai sells both regular and diet pop but I am telling you the truth when I say you should drink more water. We stopped automatically bringing water to customers' tables (we ask if you want water) because it's not good to waste water, but water you drink is not wasted. The water you drink is good for you. The other beverages True Thai serves? They are not as good for you.

Yes, I am a lousy business woman. I would rather give you free water than sell you beverages loaded with sugars and chemicals. But I am also a lousy public health nurse and will sell you all the sugar and chemicals you want if that's what you like.

What True Thai has in common with you

Like just about everyone else, True Thai is short on cash. This may surprise you. "Anna, how can you be short on cash when True Thai is always busy?!" That question is actually very easy to answer.

Like most people in this country, True Thai lives on a budget. So long as we stick to our budget, we do OK. We were doing OK right up until January of this year. That is when a clause in our lease with Seward Redesign that we had not noticed kicked in and suddenly our rent doubled to almost $16,000 a month. Divided by 189 (our seating capacity), that's $84 a month per chair.

I guess that does not sound like much if you're a landlord, but that is a lot of rent to pay. So much so we were having trouble paying it. By summer, Seward Redesign had a choice: evict us, or lower the rent. They chose to lower the rent a little, but we are still paying a lot of rent and that's why we're tightening our belts and trying to be more efficient. We even had to raise our prices, but that didn't really cover much more than the increase in food costs we've experienced.

So if you were wondering why Anna couldn't buy a food truck without a payment arrangement, now you know. Maybe I am sharing too much, but I think regular customers like to know what is going on with their favorite restaurant.