A "Thai" With the Past

For several years I went to a salon in Raleigh for my haircuts/styles where Lenny was my stylist.  He had "met" Noi" as a pen pal & after a few years of writing, then meeting, then a few trips to Thailand, they were married.  His dream was to one day open a Thai restaurant because Noi was a fabulous cook.  She brought spring rolls to our home once for a party & they were the best I've ever had, before or since.
Not many of us follow through with a dream, but 5 1/2 years ago I lost my stylist... Lenny & Noi moved to Ashville, NC to open their restaurant.

Last week passing through Ashville near lunch time, we decided to try to find their restaurant (though the average life span of restaurants is usually pretty short... and I had no idea of the name of the restaurant.)  We stopped at the AAA office to get some maps & I asked if she knew of any Thai restaurants in the area.  She looked up one on a map & sent us toward downtown to find it.  About 1 1/2 miles down the same road as the AAA office, I spotted this sign:

(It was a small strip mall, so ignore the top two signs...)  And there was the dream!

Inside we met Lenny, and he called Noi from the kitchen (she does all the cooking).  They are open for lunch until 3 PM, then re-open at 5 PM for dinner.  He comes in & cleans every AM before they open, then he cleans again at 4:30 to get ready for the dinner crowd.  

You can tell that he really cleans it!

He loves what he's doing, going around visiting with all the customers, having conversations just like he did in the salon, making it a nice place to go & be comfortable.

But all of us go out to eat to get good food, and Noi was back in the kitchen working her magic...

They brought out some wonderful appetizers for us (the spring rolls were gone by the time I thought to take pictures).  Everything is made fresh with the freshest ingredients & is so tasty.  They have noodle dishes, stir fry, & curry dishes that all can have chicken, tofu, shrimp, or beef added; and you can substitute anything in any of the dishes.  They have options of mild, light, hot, & hottest.  We chose mild, but Dear Hubby opted to try the "hottest" sauce on the side.  I didn't see him break out in a sweat, but I think he was pretty close (he didn't finish it.)

They have lots of other options on the menu, so there's something for everyone.  And their prices are very reasonable!

I had Pad Thai, and it was fantastic!  I'm not usually much of a fan of this dish, but thought I'd give it a try. YUM!!!  Really glad I did.

So if you're ever in/near Ashville, be sure to go see Lenny & Noi at their Thai Kitchen (535Merrimon Ave.) & share in their dream.