If These Walls Could Talk...

Banthai Restaurant, originally uploaded by NCVillamar.

The best Thai food in Maryland is located at 340 N. Charles Street in downtown Baltimore. Banthai has had my business for the past 15 years. The walls of Banthai have been privy to every development in my life as of 1995.

My Joy Luck Club friends -- Christine, Ashley, Dian, Francine, and Kim -- and I ate at Banthai regularly as a group during law school, and regularly now with our respective families. I took my parents to Banthai when they came out for my law school graduation. During my single girl days when I was dating I always picked Banthai for dinner dates. Banthai has seen me through boyfriends and breakups. I celebrated job offers over pad thai noodles and thai iced tea. The Joy Luck Girls joined to honor Dian's memory at Banthai after she passed away. I took Randy to Banthai before I took him home to California to meet my family. Many of our dates before we got married started out with dinner at Banthai. I knew Randy was Mr. Right when randomly one night he told me that one of the things he loved best about me was that I introduced him to new things, like watching plays at small community theaters, singing karaoke in public, and Banthai. My girlfriends and I meet up for lunch at Banthai in the middle of the workday. Girls' Night Out almost always includes dinner at Banthai. I have been going to Banthai so long that the servers have stopped asking me what I want to order -- they know based on my facial expression. I planned my wedding during dinners at Banthai. The Banthai staff has seen me through my engagement, wedding, first pregnancy and second pregnancy. Banthai food was part of my Healthy Pregnancy Diet. After my father died and my mother came to stay with us for a few months, we regularly went to Banthai for comfort food. We've celebrated birthdays, Valentine's Day, and promotions at Banthai. I had my 40th birthday dinner there. When Christine and I are depressed we forego happy pills in favor of my Ped Pad Kaprow (crispy duck with basil, Chinese broccoli and sauce) and her Larb (minced chicken with fresh lime juice and spices). Jagger had his first chicken satay at Banthai. He only has two teeth, yet he chomped down one entire stick of chicken. I'm glad he liked the food, because he will be growing up there.

When Randy, the kids and I eat at Banthai, it's like eating at a relative's home. The owner, Mr. Tim, comes and sits with us to see what we've been up to. Skyler greets him with a hug and excitely updates him on her life. He always sends over a plate of oranges to our table when we're done eating. In Asian culture, you give someone oranges at the end of a meal to wish them a sweet life.