December 17, 2024 – Nothing says Westernized Thai quite like “American fried rice,” with a fried egg, fried chicken (!) and hot dog (!!).
Only here’s the thing, as “where-they-need-me-I-do-it” owner-operator Jane Vencill points out: The dish is actually so regional you normally have to cross the globe to get it.
“We have it in Thailand, but they don’t have it here!” she says.
That dish represents one of the atypical plates at brand new Love Thai on Forest Hill in Pacific Grove, which has settled into the former Taste of India (and before that, Vito’s), and is coming up on a month in business.
The broader menu plays the hits—Vencill notes the Pad Thai and Tom Kha coconut soup are most popular—interspersed with comfort-tinged crossovers.
Pad macaroni, baby back ribs, chicken stew over spaghetti and cod fish ’n’ chips ($18-$22), for instance, come complemented by dramatic plates like “Seafood on the Tray” with mussels, shrimp, squid, and wheels of corn on the cob.
Headlining specials ($14-$32) include Love Thai fried rice, pla pad khing with cod, salmon Panang and tamarind party wings.
There are also a dozen solid lunch specials ($16-$17) like pineapple curry, Thai noodle soup, Thai fried rice, and wide noodle pad see ew.
Beverages include local beer, wine and sake, and most noticeably boba like the Thai iced tea version.
The medium-sized space proves clean and airy, adjoined by an outdoor patio and set off by gorgeous XL wide angle pastorals of Thailand.
Our two-top ordered imitation crab rangoons, a papaya salad, tom kha coconut soup with tofu and, from the novel offerings, a “pad mama” stir-fry with shrimp I hadn’t seen on menus before.
Everything earned a satisfactory grade, no standouts, no bombs, though the salad could use an alternative to unripe tomato wedges. The pad mama was unspectacular but soothing, the soup broth superb. We vanquished everything (tomatoes excepted) quickly.
It had me thinking that restaurant diversity depth operates on a spectrum. Monterey Bay Area is no San Francisco Bay Area. But it’s no Humboldt Bay Area either. It’s objectively awesome to have another Thai spot in town.
Meanwhile, our service proved entertaining, to put it diplomatically. But it was our server’s first shift working there, her second job of the day, and a favor to the mother-daughter team behind it.
That familial element is key here. Vencill learned the bedrock recipes from her mom Anna, who helps in the kitchen when staffing is as challenging as it is at the moment.
The two also created and cultivate Ginger Thai on South Main Street in Salinas, another reliable neighborhood hub, so they know what they’re doing. (Prior to that, Anna ran a Thai spot in Marina.)
The service excitement peaked when the tom kha arrived with chicken rather than tofu, which we flagged and saw swept away, with the bowls and spoons, and replaced with a tom yum sweet-and-sour soup loaded with veggies that we didn’t order, no bowls or spoons. But it was delicious, and the fleeting taste of the coconut soup before we ID’d the bird was excellent too.
Three weeks in, Vencill says the response has been enthusiastic, and she’s planning a grand opening soiree in the coming weeks.
“We try to make new stuff for the people to try, but mostly the main thing is the Pad Thai and curry and coconut soup,” she says. “They love it.”
She adds the base menu is similar to Ginger Thai’s in Salinas, but they do add different dishes, the big seafood numbers included.
Her closing message to EMB readers is succinct.
“They should come to try a new thing,” she says. “The food is—what [do] they call it—flavorful!”
And so a Love story begins.
More at lovethaicuisine.com.
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, Edible Monterey Bay's managing editor, appears on "Friday Found Treasures" via KRML 94.7 every week, a little after 12pm noon. Reach him via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
