Complex Numbers

Revisited: "Finally!"

Today, we're going all the way back to 2008 for a prototype comment-on-an-external-link format blog entry: "Finally!" 

It's short, but as the story is fifteen years old, it's no surprise that the link there is dead. No big deal; I could tell what it was about by the lede I'd copied:

SILVERTON, Ore. -- Management for a popular Silverton restaurant announced Thursday that young children would no longer be allowed into the establishment.

The manager at the Red Thai restaurant on Oak Street said children younger than 6 aren't welcome in the eatery.

Naturally, the questions, here in the future, are obvious: Is there still a Red Thai restaurant on Oak Street in Silverton, Oregon? And if so, is it under the same management? After all, even restaurants without controversial (but excellent) policies close down on a regular basis. Controversy might give them a temporary boost, but they'd have to keep generating more to get such free advertising.

A quick search revealed that, indeed, the Red Thai Room on Oak Street was, sadly, no longer in business. I can't be absolutely certain that "Red Thai Room" and the "Red Thai Restaurant" as mentioned in the news link are the same, but I'd bet money on it. My source? Yelp, which for some reason keeps records like that. There were only two reviews,   both from 2008, on the "recommended" page, both positive, but containing no mention of their wonderful policy.

What I found completely amusing was the dueling reviews on the "not recommended"   page: one one-star bitching about the no-brats rule, and another with five stars singing the praises of the no-brats rule.

Well. The former restaurant, now singing with the choir eternal, was, according to that Yelp page, located at 211 Oak Street. If the review dates are anything to go by, the restaurant, to my great sadness, didn't last long with its glorious policy.

But, if you're ever out that way, apparently there's another restaurant at that same address: Sandee Thai Restaurant.   What an amazing coincidence that the cuisine hasn't changed, but the name has.

Their food looks delicious, by the way, but I'm certainly biased as I love Thai food, or at least what passes for it in the US. The hotter the better. It generally requires some convincing them that, yes, even though I have pale skin, light hair and blue eyes, I love me some Thai spice; but usually, they acquiesce to my request. Though sometimes, they'll stand there with a carton of milk and watch me take the first few bites. Just in case.

I'm not ragging on people who don't tolerate spice well, incidentally. People like what they like. Only on the inherent racism of assuming that I'd be one of them, based on my looks.

And yes, I'm aware of the seeming contradiction between this and my desire not to eat around toddlers. Do not expect me to be consistent, but in this case, it's the difference between someone enjoying their meal in peace, or acting like zoo primates.

Back to my original entry, my words:

But it's nice to think about other restaurants, preferably ones in my area, following suit and denying entry to screaming kids. To me, there's little worse than being at a restaurant and having them seat a kid near me. Even when they're quiet, I end up losing my appetite when I see them eat. I'd rather be near smokers, or even loud drunks.

Sadly, the policy never caught on. Fortunately, my tolerance for the antics of young children in restaurants has increased since then, though if they try to seat me near one, I usually try to obtain a different table. Also fortunately, I'm far more likely, when I'm at home, to order takeout or delivery, thus avoiding both screaming kids and disbelief that a white guy likes his food Thai hot.