One of my all-time favorite local restaurants is Toi's Thai. It is a quaint, tiny, hole-in-the-wall, (I say that in a most fond way) fabulous Thai restaurant. Toi's is situated on the 400 block of Last Chance Gulch in a very old building. The 400 block is very interesting. Some businesses struggle, some businesses thrive. Toi's definitely thrives. You never really know what you might find on that block.
Toi is the real deal. She is one of the most lovely, engaging, fun restaurant owners you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. She works in the kitchen every night, except when she's off visiting family in Thailand. We have been graced with the presence of her sister from Bangkok when she is visiting, as she works side by side with Toi in the kitchen. Then there is the lovely server, Lynn. It was a rare occasion that Lynn was not working when we've been there. I met Lynn probably 10 years ago when she worked at the middle school that my son attended. She was one of my favorites at the school, and she is one of my favorites at the restaurant.
Toi doesn't have a beer/wine license so you have to bring your own. I say "have to bring your own," but what I really mean is you "get to bring your own." I love places like that. Not sure how that all works, but it works for me.
Last night, in celebration of taking delivery of our new (used) 2007 Toyota Prius earlier in the afternoon, which, by the way, turned out to be a killer deal, and I don't think I am stupid after all, (old post) we decided to head out for dinner. You need a reservation at Toi's, and we didn't have one. We started out at the newly constructed Downstairs (downstairs from the Brewhouse) to have a beer and a glass of wine, but quickly decided it was a Toi's kind of a night, if at all possible. I called to see if, by chance, there might be the possibility of getting in. Good news: Someone had just cancelled. They could get us in at 7:30. Thirty minutes to go retrieve a bottle of wine and head on down. If you never ask, you will never receive.
We pulled up, parked, and quickly noticed the gaggle of girls (five) standing out on the sidewalk. They looked like a fun bunch with lots of bottles of wine. Just my type but quite a bit younger. The restaurant is so small that if your party is more than two, you have to wait outside because there just isn't any room -- to even stand -- but well worth the wait in the cold or heat. They didn't seem to be bothered too much by the wait, and it wasn't cold.
We walked right in, our table was ready, and we were seated at the back of the restaurant. The perfect spot for "people watching." Lynn warned us that she needed to tend to the party of five that had been waiting outside for 30 minutes, but would get us wine glasses as quickly as possible. She seemed a little worried that the natives (gaggle of girls) were getting restless. We were in no hurry, but we did kind of want our wine glasses right away. I am not opposed to heading to the kitchen, asking for wine glasses, being self-sufficient, but Lynn was able to grab them quickly and then get on out to take care of the girls.
There were two little round tables in the middle of the restaurant that could have been put together to accommodate the party of five, but we were told the girls were willing to wait for the better, bigger, rectangular table next to the window that would be a more comfortable, far better spot to dine.
One of the great things about Toi's is most people that go there really appreciate the casual, comfortable, spirited nature of Toi, the great food, and the coziness of the place. It is not at all unusual to strike up conversation with strangers in the restaurant seated next to you. Most nights Toi will come out of the kitchen and visit with everyone, making sure everyone enjoyed the food, and then welcoming them to come back. She knows most people when they arrive, but probably knows everybody by the time they leave.
Well, now that I am a photographer (you know what I mean -- in training) I am fascinated by the people I see and want to include them in my life and take pictures of them. My husband sits back waiting for the perfect time to possibly approach someone asking to take their photo. Not me. I get right in there right away and ask to take the photo. We learned this very important photography rule from our very dear friend, Jay Stock, International Master Photographer. He says you should always ask to take someone's photo, and then you must send them a copy in the mail as a token of your appreciation. So I approached the table of five, commented to them on how much fun they looked to be having, talked to them about the value of friendship, as I had just returned from a girls trip, and then told them that I had a true appreciation for, and was entertained by, the number of bottles of wine they showed up with. This was a fun bunch. No one ever wants to run out of wine. You can always take any leftover bottles home, but you cannot always get more. Be prepared.
Dinner, as usual, was great. A big thank you to Christina and the girls for giving me something to write about. Bottoms up.
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