Thai Village

Last night, I wanted to take my daughter to this great little restaurant to which a friend had introduced me. We drove down Kirby, turned left on Bolsover, left on Morningside, left on Dunstan, drove down Dunstan, turned around, drove back and took a right on Morningside, a right on Rice Blvd. where I caught sight of the Pier 1 Imports and remembered that last time, our route had something to do with Pier 1, so we took a left on Kelvin to the corner of Times Blvd, which despite its rather impressive-sounding name looks more like a little back street than a boulevard, where I saw the Shiva Restaurant to the right and knew we were almost there.

My daughter was very annoyed with me, but it didn’t matter. Hidden next to the Shiva Restaurant on Times Blvd., and almost lost in its shadow, is a rather modest, unassuming jewel of a restaurant called Thai Village. Thai Village is worth any amount of wrong directions and pointless wanderings to get there because Thai Village serves some of the best Thai food in Houston. OK, perhaps I am being a little hyperbolic since I can’t claim to have eaten in every single Thai restaurant in Houston (and yes, Virginia, there are a ton of Thai restaurants in Houston), but I challenge you to stop by Thai Village and get one taste of the Pad Thai, the Tiger Cry, or the Panang Chicken Curry and see if you don’t agree with me.

Me recommending curry anything should be a clue to those who know me: I hate curry. Loathe it, despise it, cannot even endure the smell. Yet the Panang Curry at Thai Village is quite simply divine.

The restaurant is not fancy and doesn’t really put itself out there. It frankly reminds me of a mom and pop restaurant from the 60s, which is probably how it started its life. Don’t get me wrong; I like mom and pop restaurants and modest, unpretentious little places like Thai Village. I’m just speculating that its very modestness is what has kept it from being on the hot list of Houston restaurants, where it should be. Or perhaps it is the very reasonable prices for generous portions of food. Some people don’t trust moderately priced restaurants. In the case of Thai Village, that is their loss.

For those on whom the charm is lost of wandering Rice Village streets until you happen to stumble upon the place, it is located at 2512 Times Blvd., around the corner from Pier 1. Check it out and see if you, too, don’t fall under its spell.