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This is literally the whole restaurant.

In front of the window, the counter bends around to the left with another three stools;

a series of two-tops run along the wall to the right of the door.

I'm sitting at a three-top and there is one more behind me.

I've said it before and I'm here today to say it again: Thai Tom's is a tremendously delicious experience in authentic Asian eats.

This is the view of the kitchen, as seen from the counter.

Sit here and you are literally within arm's reach of the finished plates.

Every plate that comes out of this kitchen looks superb, and someday I hope to try them all. For now though, I am stuck in the sumptuous rut of #15, the swimming rama.

In heaven, I will eat this every day.

Imagine

a savory peanut sauce,

swimming with bits of chicken, shrimp, or crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside tofu,

poured over a bed of barely wilted spinach and sprouts,

with just enough white rice to soak up all that sauce,

and a sprinkling of chopped peanuts on top.

Now as I have also said before, Thai Tom's cooks amazing food, but the rest of the dining experience leaves plenty to be desired. As we strolled up to the entrance on a summer Sunday mid-afternoon, hoping for a lull in the typical gonzo rush, we were dismayed to see a crowd waiting on the sidewalk.

Fine. We gave our name to the waitress and settled in for the wait.

Thank goodness for people watching; the Ave offers the best in bizarre entertainment. Imagine a man with a big white beard and his little golden fluff of a dog, inexplicably marching repeatedly up and down the sidewalk without benefit of a leash but every bit as companionable. They were our favorites.

After twenty minutes or so, the waitress came back to take our order.

Another ten minutes later, she beckoned us inside to our table and presumably, a further wait for our food to be presented.

Imagine our delight and surprise when we were led to a table, not only clean and freshly set for our meal, but with the steaming plates of food already at our places, cool water poured and chop sticks ready for lift off.

All that was left to do was for us to sit down and eat up every tantalizing morsel.

And that is exactly what we did.

* * * * *

Thai Tom's is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on the Ave in Seattle, and if you ever have the chance, go there. In the meantime, I highly recommend you read all about it.

Life Of A Math Teacher: Number 15

My Homemade Pad Thai

Seattle > The U District > the Ave > Thai Tom"s > Nirvana

Rice Bowl Sauce: Spicy Sriracha Peanut