Thai Tanic

When I was in D.C. interviewing for my current job, I flipped through the Yellow Pages to find a place to go eat one evening. It was then that I spotted a restaurant with THE. BEST. NAME. EVER. Thai Tanic.

I didn't go there that night because I was on an anti-Thai kick due to issues relating to my ex (who, if you check Facebook, Marci refers to as my loser ex-fiance and a jackass; it turns out she is a much better judge of character than I). I'm pretty sure I went to Chipotle instead. :)

I knew that I had to remember to mention this place to Nick as someplace we would definitely be visiting should I move here because he would appreciate the name as much as I did. Hopefully with a name like that it could live up to our once-great visits to Magic Kitchen.

So, I moved. He asked me nearly every time we talked on the phone the first couple months if I had been to Thai Tanic yet. My anti-Thai feelings persisted. I told him, "No, I have to wait for you and Abby to come," as an excuse. He gave up and stopped asking.

Fast-forward to Tuesday (and just past a year that I've been here). Mike e-mails me a few options for places to have dinner tonight, one of which was a Thai place. I reply that we should go to the Thai place because it's well past time for me to get over my issues, then write, "What's the Thai place on 14th? I am in desperate need of trying this place called Thai Tanic that I saw in the Yellow Pages one time just because that is a spec-fucking-tacular name ... Which means it probably sucks, but I still need to try it."

He replies that today is my lucky day because the place he suggested IS Thai Tanic. Super-strange coincidence, but it was like it was meant to be. I was in a ridiculously good mood the rest of the day.

OK, so Thai Tanic gets an A-. The name of this restaurant began by setting the bar high, and luckily, it was able to deliver.

There's a cheesy neon sign in the window, cheesy wording in the menu (though nothing will ever live up to Springfield's Thailand Cuisine) and strange, half cheesy/half mod decor.

The first thing I looked for on the menu was if there were levels of spiciness available (which I feel is key to a Thai dining experience), and indeed there were. You could choose mild, hot or fire. This was a definite bonus from a menu standpoint, but ironically, also was where the restaurant got docked a partial grade. I ordered my dish at the fire level. Apparently a fire to them feels like a lazy river on a 90-degree day. Rinsing your mouth with mouthwash for the full minute feels hotter.

Don't get me wrong, the food was good. The next time I go, I'm going to have to order my meal "fire plus, plus, plus" though. That's right Nick ... even an extra plus just for good measure.

PS - Sorry that I've already gotten off topic from my blog requests, but it was so unexpected to be going to Thai Tanic today, that it was necessary. The next blog WILL be Installment 1. :)