Little Thailand tucked away on boulevard

For the past year that I’ve lived in Amarillo, I’ve bemoaned the fact that there aren’t many ethnic restaurants that hold true to the made-from-scratch, scarily bizarre-looking, intricately spiced and seasoned dishes that I have a sentimental spot for.

Then one day, my boyfriend and I walked into Bangkok.

Located on the Boulevard in a non-descript beige building is Little Thailand.

With the telltale Formica tables, cast-off diner chairs and agitated foreign chatter coming from the kitchen, I knew we had struck gold.

We didn’t have so much of a server as a petite, impeccably dressed woman with a heavy accent who bustled around our table with absolute authority and charm.

The Thai teas we ordered were homemade and served in generous glasses.

For an appetizer we ordered the sticky jerky: a plate of five Thai-style fried chicken pieces and a basket of sticky rice which you scoop out and roll up the chicken in, along with two phenomenal dipping sauces.

The menu is six pages long and comes with a booklet of photographs so a diner can see what the dish looks like beforehand.

I ordered the chicken curry soup, and my boyfriend ordered the Pad Thai.

I was asked how spicy I wanted the curry, and I made the mistake of insisting that it be as spicy as possible.

The bowl of soup was as big as a vinyl record, chock full of green chilies, chicken and lemongrass. It was big, and it was so spicy that I had tears of joy and pain running down my cheeks as I ate.

My boyfriend’s Pad Thai came in the authentic style: blanketed by scrambled eggs with delicately seasoned vegetables and meat mixed in with the noodles.

The size of the portions for the price was impressive; we both ended up taking leftovers home.

Our total bill for drinks, appetizers and the entrees was $22. In all, Bangkok is a winner, so authentic that I suspect they have a small, independent country behind the kitchen doors complete with spice plants and wild tigers.

The service is excellent; our server asked us our preferences and explained our dishes in detail without any hesitation. The food is impeccable at excellent prices.

For your Thai fix, make the trip out to Bangkok.

Bangkok is located at 5901 East Amarillo Boulevard.

The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner. Only cash is accepted.