412 5th Ave., Fairbanks, Alaska 452-6123
There are two things you can count on after living in Fairbanks: you will forever think of anything above zero degrees as “not too cold” and you will be forever spoiled for Thai food. We have such fabulous Thai restaurants that for former Fairbanksans eating Thai food anywhere but Thailand will ultimately lead to disappointment. Among our many excellent Thai restaurants∗, Thai House sets the standard.
The last time I was there was at their old location and Cedar was only eight weeks old. A diaper-buster sent us to the bathroom. I borrowed the key at the counter and headed down the dank hallway with the sunken floor to the bathroom that served the restaurant, a dentist’s office, and innumerable hole in the wall offices, some numbered and labeled, others mysteriously blank. The only available surface for diaper changing to be found was the plastic lid of a thirty-gallon garbage can. I hadn’t been back since then (thanks to the also excellent Lemongrass Thai restaurant).
But last May Thai House moved to a new location just down the street from the old one. The sign is still there for diners to behold in January, “Opening May 1st!” New location—new bathroom. With two girls in tow, we decided to give it a try.
The bathroom is a huge improvement. There’s no changing table, but the sink has a counter just wide enough for a five month old. I parked Coral there and changed away. Anyone over 10 months will be too big for this option, but it was clean and a change on the floor wouldn’t be unthinkable. The many gold-framed mirrors, pedestals, and the silk flowers especially impressed cedar. This bathroom has pretensions to something greater—maybe a set from TV’s Miami Vice.
Cedar, who on her fourth day of full-on underpants wearing was telling anyone who would listen, “I’m wearing underpants under my pants,” headed to the potty with me. She initiated me into a new parenting dilemma—toddler running out of the bathroom while mama is still indisposed. Fortunately, I was just fastening my belt. The door opens directly into the dining room and the bathroom is filled with mirrors, so be warned. Embarrassment from all angles awaits some unfortunate parent. Dads beware—the diners have an even better view of the men’s room.
We do love our Thai on the Last Frontier, but mind your schedule. Every Thai restaurant in town is closed between 4 and 5 pm. We’ve made the parenting mistake of promising chicken with red curry, unbuckling a hungry toddler from the car, carrying her through a parking lot in twenty below weather only to be turned away at the door. Strapping her back in was a challenge. Enjoy some Thai food and a clean bathroom—go to Thai House at 5:01 tonight.
∗ There are so many good Thai restaurants and so many other lousy restaurants that I would like to institute an international restaurant exchange. Some one from a town lacking good Thai send us your Chinese or Indian restaurant and we’ll ship a Thai restaurant there.
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