On a lark, Clyde and I decide to fly out to Palm Springs for the President’s Day weekend. After snagging ourselves a spot at one of the local resorts, we hit the Thai restaurant our host recommended: Thai Smile.
Outside and inside, Thai Smile looks a bit like an old-time diner. The conversion to a Thai restaurant has been achieved by hanging Thai artwork on the walls (and, of course, by replacing Mel the Cook with a competent Thai staff back in the kitchen). Given all those years we spent eating at the Thai House in Jackson, MS (located, for the first thirteen years of its life, in a converted Howard Johnson’s restaurant), we felt right at home.
I ordered a bowl of tom yum gai (a spicy-hot lemongrass-based soup) and the spicy chicken in peanut sauce; Clyde opted for the larb nuu (ground pork, stir-fried with onions, mint, and spices). We had just enough time to savor some strong Thai coffee before our orders arrived.
My four word review? Heaven on a plate.
The best Thai restaurant on the planet — and I’ve visited Thai restaurants all over the planet — is Vancouver’s Sawasdee Thai Restaurant. Guess what? The second best is, hands-down, Thai Smile in Palm Springs.
Their tom yum gai is, quite simply, the best soup I’ve ever tasted in my life — and no, I don’t say that lightly. The soup is packed with expertly cooked white meat chicken suspended in a tangy lemongrass broth. In addition to the chilies I expected, the chef has added fresh tomatoes and a surprising hint of orange. The result? You just can’t get enough of this wonderful soup. When my bowl was empty, I almost — not quite, but almost — licked the bowl. (If the restaurant had been less busy, I probably would have gone ahead and done just that.)
My spicy peanut chicken almost as good — heavy on the stir-fried green beans, but also heaped with chunks of breast meat, graced with a steaming helping of sweet peanut sauce and sprinkled with chopped peanuts. Clyde’s pork dish was as authentic as they come, served with lettuce leaves stiff enough to be used to scoop up every bit of the savory meat.
The service was quick and friendly, but I was so busy swooning over the soup, I hardly noticed.
If you’re in Palm Springs, don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy what is likely the best Thai restaurant in the states. When you leave Thai Smile, you’ll be wearing a Thai smile — I guarantee it.
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