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I have just spent the last two weeks researching and cataloging every single Thai restaurant in Thai Town. I have driven up and down Hollywood Boulevard more times than a horny john. I have eaten every kind of Thai food. I have eaten boar, crunchy frog, durian, horrible purple salted crab and some things I cannot even pronounce. So this morning I finished my last graveyard shift for the weekend, and with some relief, I realized I didn't have to go back to Thai Town for the the rest of the week. I am going to take a Thai hiatus and let the other posters rock the curries. I pulled into the 24-hour drug store on the way home for some trashy magazines and ice cream to enjoy on my little Thai-free vacation. I was so tired, I realized only at the very moment that I slammed the door that the keys were in the ignition. I never do that. Fuck.
Luckily, a police cruiser just happened to pull up. I said. "Oh, officers. I'm so glad to see you! I just locked my keys in my truck." They rudely shouted, "Call Triple A" and drove off without a backwards glance. Leaving a lone female in a dark deserted parking lot at 5am, locked out of her car. I know the cops aren't my personal helpers, but Jeez.
I have AAA. I could have called AAA. But I was so tired, and I didn't want to wait in the dark parking lot for an hour when I really wanted to be in bed. I'm a handy gal, So I bought a motley assortment of tools in the drug store and set to work breaking into my car. Pretty soon a good Samaritan started helping me. We spent a good hour prying and shaking and hooking at things. I realized the AAA driver probably would have been there by now. But I was kind of determined to do it myself, if only to prove how easily the cops could have helped me. If they had only shown a little bit of interest in serving and protecting. They could have at least offered to call AAA, or poked helpfully at the doorhandle to show some kind of concern.
So my good Samaritan was busy working on the back window, while I was jimmying the side window, when CRACK! the back window shattered. My good Samaritan, Alec, felt SO bad. But I was beyond caring. Finally we got the truck open. I felt like I owed him something. I tried to buy him a latte, but he said he was just coming home from the late shift, like me. He works in his family restaurant. I asked him what restaurant.
"Hollywood Thai Restaurant". I started laughing. It seemed like a great cosmic joke. He asked me if I knew it. I said, "Are you kidding? I was just in there 2 days ago. The place with the shabu shabu. It's an interesting building."
He said, "Some people call it the Hobbit House." I asked him what was good there. He said, "Papaya salad."
I asked, "With that salty crab? Ugh."
"No, we ferment it ourselves. It's blue crab. It's good." I told him I'd had some pretty awful pre-packaged purple salted crab imported from Viet Nam the day before. He guaranteed me theirs was made fresh - a whole different world. So Carrie, say hi to Alec for me and if you don't go for the papaya salad maybe try the curried frog. If they put half the dedication and effort into their food that Alec put into helping me, you know it's going to be good.
