Thursday, August 9, 2012.
More Summer Storms. Sala Thai.
I remained home to finally catch up this week's writing, and because the weather looked terrible. At around two, one of those rainless thunderstorms whose electrical blasts sound like explosions rather than bass drums came though. The usually fearless dog Susie went into hiding. The cat Twinnery stared down the storm as if it were a sunny day.
Sharleen, the representative with Cunard Lines with whom we have been making the arrangements for our fall cruise next month, had good news. People continue to sign up with the Eat Club group, which now numbers fifty. She says she has a few more in progress. It's a huge success, I will be able to tell Mary Ann. She didn't think we'd pull too many people.
Dinner at Sala Thai. It opened in old Covington a year or two ago, but this was my first time. Or was it? This is the third Thai restaurant to occupy this space. And before those came a number of other restaurants. It's a nice old house with a big outdoor pork, and seems like a good restaurant spot, but nothing lasts there long. It was funny to think of all the times I've eaten here researching all those other reviews.
One of the former restaurateurs here was Rosita Skias, with the third or fourth iteration of her Odyssey Grill--a Greek restaurant she ran in Lakeview and Old Metairie. She told me that this house was at one time the address of Lee Harvey Oswald.
There was some problem with Sala Thai's kitchen. They were having a hard time getting the food out, both for eat-in and take-out customers. I told them not to worry about it--I am a slow eater who likes to read long articles in dining rooms. But they even tested that patience.
The food was good, though. One course only: pad prik king, a stir-fry dish with an unusual, somewhat musky (I can't think of a better word) Thai curry sauce, with a lot of green beans and carrots. Whatever was the problem in the kitchen had no effect on the goodness of the cooking, and I found this very enjoyable, although I've seen nicer presentations.
At half past two, I was roused by a noise in the bathroom. Something fell off a shelf. Then I heard skittering. "What, again?" I thought. This bathroom has needed renovation for most of the twenty-two years we've lived here, but it never gets done. Lately, we've had an occasional mouse get in somehow. (Those don't stay long after they meet the cat Twinnery.)
But this was different. I opened the door and saw an animal run into a deep built-in shelf unit. I saw it just long enough to see its banded, fluffy tail. A young raccoon? Maybe. Maybe a squirrel. I know we live with many of both out here in the woods. I'm going to call it a coon.
I'm glad Mary Ann isn't here. Or I wish she were, because I've wanted to fix this damn room for years. But she always has a project she likes better. Mr. Raccoon may make my argument more forcibly than I can.
Sala Thai. Covington: 315 N Vermont. 985-249-6990.
It's over three years since a day was missed in the Dining Diary. To browse through all of the entries since 2008, go here.
