Thai Spice Restaurant — Restaurant in Anderson

Look, its a hole in the wall. Its across the street from a medical center, on a triangle corner of two very wide and busy streets in Anderson with limited seating and even more limited parking - but here's the thing... they score an A on their health inspection, from 11am-1:30pm its almost IMPOSSIBLE to get a seat because they are PACKED, and OMG THE FOOD IS TO DIE FOR!

Their Thai Tea is marvelous, that's for certain. I don't make it to Anderson very often, but when I do I always eat there. The menu is Thai. Thai Thai Thai Thai Thai. There's no Chinese, there's no Sushi, there's no Korean, there's no Americanized Asian food in the house - this is Thai. Hell there isn't even an egg roll on the menu.

Now, I have only had the lunch menu, and the prices are good, starting at $7.25 going up to $9.95, +$1 or +$2 for beef or shrimp, respectively. Each entree comes with a side of rice (unless its a noodle dish), and a starter of a spring roll and cucumber salad. Lets start with the salad.

Thin slices of prettily carved cucumber flesh (no seedy parts) in a sweet rice vinegar dressing with julienne carrots and red onion and a hit of something... not sure what, but its cold, its refreshing, the onion is sharp and cooled by the sweet, the cucumber is mellow but boosted by the twang of the vinegar... hell i get an extra side order of it when I go. I'd even get just that if they didn't have so many other beautiful options.

As for entrees? I don't have it memorized, I don't live nearby (my visit is over and I am home) and they're all Thai dishes so I can't even tell you the name of what I had - but the description on the menu of each item is spot on! We all know Phad Thai, and I had that the first time, and damn was it good. Haven't had it since, I try something new every time.

Apart from the sauces being perfection, and the meats being quality slices, the portions are proper for the price and never heavily over-lleaning towards veg or batter (come to think of it I don't recall if there IS anything battered on the menu), rather the meat and veg are properly proportioned. And the veggies... ohhh the veggies. Ever had that sad piece of over-sauteed onion or bell pepper? Not here. Cooked, but still has bite. Not mush, not raw, not undercooked, but proper bite, fresh never frozen,. Does your dish have basil in it? Well, i mean most of them will, sure, its Thai... but you can see the basil leaves! They're not powder, dried, frozen, or squeezed from the tube, they are fresh basil leaves and the smaller hand picked ones at that, with that beautiful basil punch to your tastebuds like you've died and gone to Thailand.. You can actually pick up the basil leaf with your chipsticks (if you choose to use them, ask for them, they're not out by default) and put it in your mouth and chew it.

This food is art - and the artist can only be one who puts their love and passion into the food. If the no-space-to-park and no-tables-to-sit-at aren't enough to tell you how good a restaurant this is, perhaps my words have given you a hint as to how mervelous the food is. You WILL want to eat here, just try to go early or late lunch (not sure of their dinner hours, and Anderson is notorious for rolling up the sidewalks at night). But the tables do flip quickly - they don't leave them piled with dirties, they clean up quick and flip the tables, THEY ARE THAT GOOD AND HAVE THAT MANY CUSTOMERS! Go... just go... you'll be...

I got takeout and it was a mixed bag.

The salmon roll was 6 pc with salmon, rice and seaweed, very boring. I've never had a salmon roll like it and I was not happy. Looked for some soy to perk it up but did not get any in my to-go order. Most places I've been give you 9 pc. The crab rangoon was very mayonaisse-y, like fried-in-a-wrapper weak crab salad. Again, 6 pc, but very pretty star shapes. On the other hand, the (4) dumplings were almost a religious experience. Utterly amazing. Service was attentive and friendly, a bit slow (I had time to go next door and get a sub for hubby, and still had a few minutes wait for my order) but it seems everything was made fresh so that's kind of expected. The presentation, even in styrofoam, was very high-level, with a shredded-cabbage-and-carrot bed for the dumpling and the rangoon. It was all beautiful,, but I'm a substance-over-style sort of person so that can't make up for the not-tasty food items. I spent $17 and change, and the stars are all for the dumplings. Price was too high for the serving sizes, rangoon and sushi almost inedible. I might go back just for dumplings if I'm in the mood for a small overpriced yet...

This is a very small restaurant across the street from the hospital. It is usually packed because it is convenient and the quality of the food is excellent. The dining room is softly lit, windowed, and pleasantly decorated. There is not a long wait because the parking lot is also small and does not accommodate more than can be seated. The smallness of the restaurant allows individual attention to the meals prepared. They will prepare meals for take-out but the plate presentation and generous portions make dining-in my recommendation.

The menu is limited but diverse. My daughter prefers the Mussaman Curry. I like the Spicy Catfish or the Soft Shell Crab. My only warning is their 'mild' still has some kick to it. The steamed dumplings are the best quality I've ever had...never soggy or dry on the edges and the flavor is good, clean, and strong and does not beg for sauce.

I once ordered the catfish but did not touch the lovely dome-shaped serving of rice in the center of the platter. The waiter informed me when he cleared my table that had I told him, he would have omitted the rice and given me more catfish. That's a nice touch. I like this...