Go Thailand. Go Thai Food. Go Los Angeles. Go Manny Pacquiao.

“I ate dinner.”

“I ate dinner with my friend.”

“I ate dinner at a Thai restaurant with my friend.”

“Culminating another wonderful weekend in Los Angeles, I enjoyed an extremely tasty dinner reminding me of the previous two weeks in Thailand, eating tonight at Nat’s Thai Food with one of my closest friends, Tad.”

I am fascinated by language, both the spoken and written word. Depending upon what one decides to say or write and how one decides to say or write it, can have a deep and meaningful impact upon the listener or reader.

The difference between a simple, potentially uninteresting, sentence and an interesting one, is the difference between going out with anyone versus going out with my buddy Tad. Everything about him is interesting; and everything about him is an adventure. And our adventures have always been interesting, even a simple dinner between two old friends. When I wanted Thai food because I had a craving for a country and cuisine that I was missing, Tad did not take me to just any Thai restaurant, but he took me to Nat’s. Cos Nat’s has history. Nat’s has charm. Nat’s has Manny Pacquiao.

Nat’s Thai Food closes its doors whenever Manny Pacquiao visits Los Angeles. And when Manny visits LA, he only goes to Nat’s. His manager Freddie Roach’s boxing gym is located just doors from Nat’s, both sharing the same plaza. With a nondescript entrance in a nondescript plaza, Nat’s is just a simple single room that encompasses the entire restaurant, with a small space for the kitchen in the back. The owner is a wonderfully pleasant Thai woman with a beaming smile, much like many of the people I met on my travels through Thailand. She is always willing to keep the restaurant open should you happen to walk in. The “closed” sign was prominently displayed on the door when we walked in and later when two other patrons (who had also driven all the way from the Bay Area), yet none of us were denied. The walls were red, a large wall-to-wall mirror adorning one side, all sorts of Pacquiao pics on the other where the flat screen hung with a “Team Pacquiao” sign below it. A scooter reminiscent of the one I drove in Koh Samed took over the floor in between the tables.

We ordered the Kapow Kai Dow Mit Kai (basil chicken dish w/ fried egg), Panang Chicken, and Laab moon (minced pork served atop a bed of lettuce)… I still have the taste in my mouth, so delicious. We ate ourselves full, and yet could have gone in for more.

I love Thai food. I love Nat’s.

I love my friends significantly more (which says a lot, cos I really do love Nat’s). And of course, I love my guitar slinging, uber talented buddy, Tad.

Go Adventure. Go Travel. Go Live.

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