Khun Dom

(Sadly, the Thai joint Banh Thung went the way of the recession several months ago. One of my favorite Thai spots, Khun Dom, will accept the award for best Thai hole-in-the-wall in its place).
At the 4th of July BBQ- There she is. Standing in that corner with that guy. He’s probably her boyfriend, you think. So sit there, eat your carne asada taco and be content with it. But wait, she’s coming this way, toward you. No, don’t look behind, as if she's looking at some other chap. It’s you, pal, you. “Hi, my name is Maria,” she says. And that’s how it starts. But she seems strange, this one, like she’s been plucked from the 1970’s and dropped into our technologically pretentious new millennium. Maria is the type that if you call her, she may not pick up. Texting might get you somewhere but often does not. She will say, “If you want to talk, come over. You know I don’t like the phone.” I can write anything I’d like about her in this post because she probably will not read it. She finds the internet a distraction. Don’t even bring up Myspace or Facebook to her. If you’re a guy and you see her at a barbecue, don’t work up some line to try to get her attention. She will eventually come right up to you and stick out her hand: “My name is Maria. What is yours?” You want to quote Shakespeare to her: “If I could write the beauty of your eyes and in fresh numbers number all your graces,” but shyness overwhelms you. You mumble something about your carne asada taco. She sits there and talks food with you. You speak slowly but your mind races: how does one ask a girl like this out? You speak of the wonders of Italian, Japanese, and Mexican cuisine, not knowing where you’ll take her, feeling the pressure of seventy restaurants weighing upon you. She purrs of the glories of Thai: “the heat, the lime, the sweet.” Realizing you have one last chance before that Ashton Kutcher look-alike with the Corona Light in his hand swoops in, you say, “Have you been to Khun Dom? They have a great seafood soup.” Seafood soup. How would you know that such a tiny phrase would hold the key to a young woman’s heart in the City of Angels? A week later, she’s sitting with you in a tiny Asian eatery on Melrose right off the 101. You are struck by the way Thai food can bridge, mend, cement, correct, and build. You also think this: if you have game, that is great. But if you don’t, pad thai, pounded pork salad, and seafood soup might be enough to nab the girl. Thank you, Khun Dom.