Thai Taste: Spartanburg, SC

After hearing so many great things about Thai Taste from fellow readers of this very blog, I finally decided to make the drive over to the other side of town and just see for myself what so many people claim to being the "Best Thai in the Burg".

Upon my arrival out to the middle of nowhere, I was finally in the dusty old overgrowing parking lot of a scary Thai restaurant. But don't let the outside and location fool you, once you figure out what door to go in, you are greeted by a friendly staff full of smiles just waiting to say hello. I was quickly seated at a booth in what I would consider to be more of a diner type establishment. It threw me for a curve seeing and watching exactly how this restaurant operated. It wasn't anything I had ever seen in a Thai restaurant before. After glancing at the menu for a few moments, I was completely undecided as to what to order. I had so many recommendations from other readers on what they felt is the best dish, but in the end, it was cold outside and I wanted soup. So I went with the Gaeng Phed Gai, or also known as Chicken Red Curry. The standard soup and egg roll quickly arrived and I have to say, I was really disappointed. For the egg roll, I lost all expectations for those from restaurants long ago, but the soup. The soup is the best part about Thai food and should be the most enjoyable part of the meal. The soup is so much part of the culture and tradition and is a MUST in every meal. It tasted like lightly salted and under flavored water with a few carrots and tiny pieces of broccoli tossed in. It wasn't very good to say the least.

After a brief disappointment, my main entree arrived. As it sat there in front of me, the spices and flavors pouring from the small crock brought back memories from the best curry I had ever had. I actually sat there for a few minutes just taking in the aroma and mixing it around while I took whiff after whiff (also a good way to clear out the sinuses). When I placed my order, I asked my server how hot the already designated hot dishes where served and he said a 3. I asked him how high their heat scale when up and asked for mine to be prepared at that number. My first few bites were extremely hot, but not from the spices, it was just really temperature hot. After it cooled down enough I dug in and thought that it had great intense flavors, but it was missing something or something was hiding the true spices. It had some decent heat, but nothing that blew me away or made me sweat. I finally figured out what was wrong with the dish (for me). The curry was so over-powered by a large amount of large chunks of bell peppers that they were masking the true spices to shine. Beyond that, the curry was absolutely delicious after removing about half of the bell peppers. I was glad that it was served in the more traditional way that I am used to rather than just being slapped on a plate like all the traditional stir-fry dishes are served.

Bottom line: I can agree with the fellow readers that this is probably the best Thai food in Spartanburg, but I still have two more places to try next month for a final verdict, but I think it is pretty clear. However, I do feel that the Upstate has at least one better option for Thai cuisine that blows everyone else out of the water, but that is just one persons opinion. The service was top notch and the curry itself, minus the veggies and chicken was some of the most flavorful curry I have ever had.

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