We got in the car and I asked Ken, “What do you feel like for dinner?” He gave his usual “I don’t care”, so I started giving it some serious thought as I realized he wasn’t going to be much help. I had been reading on the Louisville Hot Bytes and had read about this little place in Jeffersonville, Indiana. All the comments on the place had been really good, so I decided we’d check it out. When I didn’t make my usual turn toward Clarksville, Ken said, “Oh, we’re going to Karen and Art’s!” I told him it was a surprise.

We arrived at Mai’s Thai Restaurant and went inside. It is a small place, but don’t let that fool you it is huge on flavors. We were greeted by Smai, the restaurant owner’s daughter, and told to have a seat if we were going to be eating in. She soon came to our table to take our drink order. I learned that Smai was really good at this table waiting thing, because she was the only waitress in the place and we always had a full glass of water or tea and all the time we needed for information about the dishes. Ken and I have never really been to a Thai restaurant, so we needed a lot of information.

I decided on the Laad Nah, which is Thai rice noodles, stir-fried in special gravy with broccoli and tofu (you can also have chicken or beef). The gravy is more broth like than thick gravy. It was delicious. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Ken decided on Gaeng Keow Wan which is a special green curry with coconut milk, green beans, eggplant with tofu (again, you could have had chicken or beef). It also came with steamed rice.

The Laad Nah was a little sour but also somewhat sweet. The flavor combination made my mouth and belly very happy. I have thought about the meal many times since last night and am anxious to go back and try something else.

Ken’s dish came with a plate with steamed rice in the middle of it and a bowl of the curry mixture. He was going to dump the bowl of curry right over the rice, but thankfully, Smai came to his rescue and told him to eat a little curry at a time with the rice so he could control the heat. It was a very hot dish, but the heat didn’t stay forever, and it didn’t distract from the dish. Very pleasing.

We were very happy with our choices for dinner. Mai said that she didn’t know how to cook Thai food very well, but she remembered how her father cooked the food and that was where her inspiration came from. She brings to us the foods of her father, from her childhood, not the americanized version of Thai food, but the real thing, and for that we can be grateful. A little taste of Thailand, right here at Mai’s Thai Restaurant in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

We had dessert too, unusual for us, but we decided to try some. We had Khoa Naew Sangkaya which is sweet rice topped with Thai custard. Delicious is all I can say. Thai custard is not the same as the custard we think of here in the states. It is thicker, not as creamy, and it was a light brown color. I think Ken really liked it, because he ate most of the dessert.

After we had finished eating, Mai came out to our table. A wonderful lady with absolutely amazing energy. She was telling us a little about her journey over the past 39 years here in the states and she kept getting goosebumps telling us about it. I loved the time we spent talking with her and looking at the pictures of Thailand she had in her photo album. We were talking about birthdays, and I mentioned that my birthday had been on the 10th of April. She went over to a stand and brought back a little brown, paper bag, handed it to me and told me happy birthday. I opened the bag and a beautiful blue scarf was inside. I brought the scarf home, Mai, and hung it in our therapy room where we keep the gifts that people have given us over the years. Thank you.

We are looking forward to going back to this little restaurant, where the people are warm and friendly and the food was divine.

Mai’s Thai Restaurant
1411 E 10th St
Jeffersonville, IN 47130

Happy Healthy Eating,

Jackie V.

Jackson’s Organic Coffee is one such business. We have found Christopher, not only to be friendly, but also excited about his product and happy to educate you about the differences in coffee, unless he has to run and check his current batch of roasting coffee beans. I also found it very interesting when he said he selects his beans to roast by their growing season. It had never occurred to me, but since the coffee beans come from around the globe, they would have different growing seasons.

If you are in Louisville, KY and want to get some really good coffee to have at home, or just a cup of really good coffee, visit them at:

Jackson’s Organic Coffee
1402 Payne Street
Louisville, KY 40206
(502) 569-0000

Chris has also said that he would do mail order for our friends who can’t make it to Louisville and would like some shipped to them. It is truly great coffee!

Have a great day.
Ken