A Patch of Treasure in the Middle of Nowhere

Last week my two good friends and I went to Dallas to attend a wedding.   On our way back, we stopped by a small Texas town with a population of a little over 7,000.  We decided unanimously that 1 hamburger on the way to Dallas is one too many for our Asian palate.  So, we decided to brave our way into a little humble looking Thai restaurant.  We had second thoughts once we were parked in front of the little parking lot, to go or not to go?  Once we came to a conclusion that Fried Rice is hard to mess up, we took a deep breath and headed in.
At first glance, I saw that the little walk way to the main entrance was covered with very healthy looking plants.  On closer examination and much to our delight, we discovered that they were Thai Bird's Chilie plants.  That was one warm and spicy welcome indeed !

The little restaurant looked clean and smelled a little over sanitized, probably too generous an amount of bleach was added to the cleaning solution.  We were the only customers there but at least we saw a few friendly and smiley Thai faces at the counter.  That was encouraging!  We inspected the menu which surprisingly had quite a few authentic Thai dishes.  We were pleasantly surprised with the tasty food, probably a little too toned down for us, but perfect for the Texan palate.  But all in all it beats the burger by far.

We started a conversation with the owner's daughter and I complimented her on the gorgeous Thai Bird's chilies up front and she told us that her mom planted them and has a garden behind the restaurant.  She invited us to take a look at the garden and of course we accepted the offer enthusiastically   We walked to the back garden with much anticipation.

It was a healthy garden with tons of Thai Bird's Chilies and Basil, Vietnamese Mint, Yard Beans, and different varieties of Eggplants.  All these plants love the Texas summer heat.   The couple asked us to picked all we want.  It was like Christmas under the Texan sun!  Not only did we enjoy a great lunch but we also walked away with a treasure trove of fresh herbs.  We thanked them profusely and will definitely stop by to visit if we are in their neck of the woods.
Now, let me share some of this treasure with you especially you who loves Thai food !

Sun-dried Thai Bird chilies 

Thai Basil

Vietnamese Mint

Eggplant