Thai Garden

One of my favorite restaurants in Ferndale is Thai Garden. I mean, sure, there's Bangkok Cafe, and it will always be delicious. Once upon telling a random person in Ann Arbor that I was from Ferndale I was asked if I'd "ever been to Bangkok", and I only had to pause for a second over whether he was asking about international travel. So, Bangkok Cafe certainly has a reputation, but character is what sets Thai Garden apart (not to mention it's open on Sundays.) I'd only eaten in the dining room once before this past weekend, and my friends and I were the only people there. Probably close to a dozen times since I moved to Ferndale I've ordered carry-out from Thai Garden, and I rarely see anyone dining in. My first apartment here was half a mile away, and I still remember walking there on November nights, just as it was getting notably cold out, listening to the National on my iPod and returning home to watch a movie and settle down before another week of work. One time after Christmas shopping I got Thai from Rexy's in Royal Oak. It just wasn't the same.

What got me to Thai Garden yesterday was an unintended chain of events that turned the past two days into a great weekend. Saturday started off normal enough: coffee, toast, listening to the radio and a little bit of house cleaning. The bike ride to the Berkley Art bash didn't have quite the turnout that it did last year, and after we meandered around for a little bit the five of us who made it went our separate ways. I rode back with my friend to Ferndale where I headed up to Dino's for some lunch and to catch the England versus United States World Cup game. I'm reluctant to root for the U.S., and my heritage is more English than anything else. The American's tying goal was a bit of a shocker... depressing I'm sure for the hardcore England fans. If I were rooting for the U.S., I would feel bad about the circumstances of a goalie dropping a routine shot. My friend's cousin and two of his roommates were coming to Royal Oak to see a stand-up comedian and had invited me to go with them. One of the girls texted to say they were on their way and asked me where my seat was. I told them that I didn't have a ticket and was planning to pay at the door, and she suggested that I swing by the box office in case they were sold out... which they were. They offered to hang out after the show, but I had had a long day and passed on the offer.

Unsure of what to do with the suddenly open evening, I invited my friend over for dinner, but she had plans. The two of us hadn't seen each other in a while, so I offered dinner the next night, and she said she'd get back to me. I stayed home and had myself an "Underrated Movie Night". First I watched The Weather Man; an example of Nicholas Cage in a role on the 'good' half of his acting extremes. After that I watched one of the best romantic comedies of all time: Shallow Hal. Somehow Jack Black is outdone by all the absurdities of this movie, which are added as a great compliment to the very real emotions it addresses. While the film is rooted in make-believe, the commentary it makes on contemporary mindsets and preconceptions regarding love and relationships are the kinds of important issues that most movies these days don't even give credence to.

Sunday morning I drove to my parents for brunch. I shot free throws in front of the garage and my dad let me put on an excellent compilation CD: You Don't Need Darkness to Do What You Think is Right. One of my favorite things to do when I'm in search of new music is to look through a record store's used compilation section and pick something with interesting artwork. It seems like every time I do that I find at least one song I love, and in this case one of my favorite soundtracks to summer driving. After the Australia versus Germany soccer game I drove home, and just as I was pulling onto my street my friend texts to say that she's near my house and whether she could come over. She had had a bad day and I restated my offer for dinner.

So, I suggested Thai, and it being a Sunday we ended up at Thai Garden. We decided to eat there, and before we even left my house I had a hankering for a Thai iced tea. The interior of the restaurant is fairly small, though about the same size as any Thai restaurant I've been in. (Except for Rexy's which is ridiculously large and overly decorated. And their food isn't that good.) We laughed for a long time about, among other things, the adorably awkward waiter and our miscommunications with him. In the time we were there, a couple other tables came in. We grew concerned that we might have been using all of their glasses.