Thai Spice Kitchen

Reno Gazette-Journal

Best Bets

August 2-9, 2006

By Susan M Botich

Thai Spice Kitchen offers warm ambience

Gina and Otto Chotisin, owners of the Thai Spice Kitchen located in downtown Carson City, are family-oriented. The Thai Spice Kitchen reflects this with its warm, personal ambiance. Every dish is completely homemade with all fresh ingredients and cooked to order, according to each customer’s personal preference.

“We offer each dish with different levels of spicy, from one star to five stars,” said Gina. “Five stars mean it is very hot and one star means it is not that hot. We make it how you request it.”

The Chotisins are originally from Thailand but began their career in the restaurant business in San Francisco, California. The Thai Spice Kitchen opened in Carson City in 1998, offering the first Thai food restaurant in town.

“We moved from San Francisco to bring our all-Thai recipes to Carson City,” said Gina. “Our food is always fresh and is good quality – and not expensive. We cook all healthy food and the spices make you feel good.”

“We like Carson City because it’s a pretty quiet town,” said Otto. “We have two sons in school. We feel that Carson City is a good place to raise our children, with good schools. That’s important. The neighborhood and our customers are really nice.”

Gina and Otto obviously enjoy people. They are eager to share their traditional Thai dishes and happy to explain what each dish is to new customers who are unfamiliar with Thai cuisine.

“If you have never tried Thai food, please let us know,” said Gina. “We will explain the dishes to you and help you to order, if you like. Don’t be afraid about the spiciness of a dish. We will make it just how you request it.”

Another unusual aspect of the Thai Spice Kitchen is that the restaurant shares the building with a sushi restaurant, Kim Lee’s Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar, and is happy to share their customers who may prefer having sushi with their Thai dinner.

“We work together,” said Otto. “If a customer wants to sit at the sushi bar and order a Thai dinner, we accommodate them. If they prefer to have a table in our restaurant but also order some sushi, we accommodate them, so they can have a little of what both our restaurants offer.”

According to the Chotisins, working together with the Sushi Bar has worked well for both restaurants. They each offer different but complimentary cuisine. In fact, Thai Spice Kitchen’s address is 111 E. Telegraph Street, Carson City, the same address used for Kim Lee’s Sushi Bar. Customers may enter the Thai Spice Kitchen via the Sushi Bar or from Plaza Street, right around the corner.

But the food is distinctively Thai. Whether the Pad Thai Noodle, Red or Green Curry, or Tom Yum soup, which are all favorites of the clientele, there is nothing else quite like it. Beautifully presented, each entrée looks like a work of art. Menus include photographs next to each entrée listed so diners may see exactly what they are ordering.

Gina and Otto are more than happy to accommodate vegetarians, offering a variety of meatless entrees. They also offer brown rice or a steamed vegetable, upon request, as a substitute for the traditional rice.

The favorite drinks for most diners are the sweet Thai spice tea, Thai spiced coffee, or the Thai beer, Singha.

“When you order tea in Thailand, you ask for Chai,” said Otto, smiling. Many patrons have come to appreciate the soothing and refreshing taste of the aromatic sweet Thai spice tea.

“Our Thai spice tea or Thai spiced coffee are a perfect compliment to any of our traditional dinners,” said Gina. “The slightly sweet flavor of the drinks offers just the right balance for the spice flavors in our entrees.”

Desserts at the Thai Spice Kitchen are always a treat.

“This is the season for mangoes,” said Gina. “We use Honey Manila mangoes for our Mango with Sticky Rice and Coconut Milk dessert. They’re the best.”

Thai Spice Kitchen is open for lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. They offer free delivery within one mile of their location with any minimum order of $25.00.

Pricing starts at $5.95 for lunch and $7.95 for dinner. Complete dinners come with soup or salad, tea and dessert.

Take-home menus are available. Call 775-841-8999 for more information or to place an order over the phone.