I’m not quite sure what I expected from a 20-year college reunion, but I was disappointed by the gaping holes in attendance. The place? Seattle Pacific University tucked in between the north flank of Queen Anne Hill and the Ship Canal in Seattle.
Maybe it was because no one else knew quite what to expect, and preferred to avoid awkward and ill-defined situations. Maybe nearly everyone but me decided that if they hadn’t talked for 20 years and not missed it, the relationships didn’t need attention. Or maybe they have all moved to Malawi or have posts in the new administration or are on the run from the IRS. All I know for sure is that only a few of the people I really wanted to see materialized to slap on a name tag.
Two great friends, Kevin and Marci Johnson, redeemed the situation, and in the middle of the day we slipped out for Thai food. I can’t speak for them, but talking about life over lunch felt much more comfortable than standing in a cavernous lobby of a college building trying to remember names, summarize 20 years in a sentence or two, and internally assess who has benefited from 20 years and who hasn’t.
Maybe the discomfort of the reunion lowered my expectations for lunch. Or maybe the fact that Ying Thai Kitchen looked closed and empty at high noon had something to do with it.
For whatever reason, I had resigned myself to mediocre fair. I deferred to Kevin and Marci on what to order for our table after a half-hearted glance over the menu. The Coriander Beef sounded vaguely interesting and the Roasted Duck Pineapple Curry looked like an intriguing departure from most Thai menus. But Kevin was in the mood for Panang Curry and so Panang it was.
Dang Panang.
The dish clocking in at two stars offered almost no heat, but that can easily be remedied next time. Because there needs to be a next time. Panang Curry has not been one of my benchmark Thai dishes, but it just became one and the Ying Thai Kitchen version is going to be a tough standard to top.
