Local Thai Spot is Spiced Right

The area’s most beloved Thai restaurant is very unassuming. The name is as straightforward as they come—Thai Restaurant of Norcross. No Buddha references, no basil references, nothing fake-exotic in the title. The location is likewise unassuming. Plopped in the middle of a strip mall in a part of town that has seen better days. 

Yet, the restaurant has an extremely loyal, enthusiastic fan base and has been reviewed by everyone from Zagat to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (three stars). Heck, Tiger Woods and R.E.M. have even been to the restaurant. What gives? Excellent, perfectly authentic Thai food, served with a smile. That’s it.

This spot at 6065 S Norcross Tucker Rd has been in business for over 25 years, and you can tell a little from the ageing thatched interior. But you’ll forget all about soon enough, if not because of the food, because of the chatty service.

There’s something that gave me great confidence even before I ordered. Every one in the restaurant except one couple looked to be from Thailand. They greeted each other with familiarity—and that tells me this food is going to be good. Thai good.

A note about "Thai-spiciness," as I call it. The first time I cooked for my now-husband, I almost seriously injured him. I had recently been in Malaysia, India and Thailand, where I took cooking courses. You could call that combination of countries training ground for someone who wanted to win the world spice eating championship. And I was on my way.

So, I made him my favorite dish: Papaya Salad. It's grated green papaya with long beans, tomatoes and sometimes shrimp. Sounds very innocent, he thought. But the ingredients are banged together in a mortar and pistil with fresh Thai chilies, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar—making the mad-hat tingly-ness that I was addicted to. His lips swelled and he was dripping sweat after a few bites, however.

When I ordered the papaya salad at Thai Restaurant of Norcross I didn’t say a word about the level of spice, as I usually do at a Thai restaurant. But my instincts told me to hold my tongue.

And the dish came out as an extremely simple version of the dish I make at home—no long beans or shrimp—but perfectly spiced. It made me smile.

In addition to the papaya salad, standards like the Pa-nanag curry and Fish Cakes are excellent. The menu is long—with a lot of items that you don’t normally find at a Thai restaurant. Since this place isn’t going anywhere—you can work your way through the whole menu.  Just bring a tissue for the tears.