If a town doesn’t have at least one good Thai restaurant, it’s not a place where I would choose to live. Bend has Toomie’s Thai Cuisine. And I’m very glad I live here.

Established in the mid-1990s by Pantip ”Toomie” Staver and her late husband, George, Toomie’s quickly rose to the highest level of regard among Asian restaurants in Central Oregon. More significantly, it has stayed there, maintaining its quality standard for more than a decade.

Foremost is the authenticity of the food. Toomie Staver is a native of Thailand, and she has recreated the cuisine of her native Southeast Asian land with expertise. This is not easy to do in a small city like ours, where many of the traditional Thai ingredients – lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, tamarind pods and Thai chilies, for example – are not readily available.

Thai cuisine became popular in the United States as servicemen returned home from Southeast Asia in the 1960s and ’70s. Many had spent rest-and-recuperation time in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand, where they became enamored with the cooking style of the ancient kingdom. After the war in Vietnam, Thai restaurants began to spring up throughout the U.S. Proper Case.

Don’t confuse Thailand with Taiwan, once known as Nationalist China. Their culinary differences are even greater than the distance (1,500 miles) separating their respective capitals. Most Chinese restaurants in the States, in fact, are Chinese-American; they serve dishes like chop suey and egg foo yong, both of which originated not in China but in 19th-century American railroad and gold-rush camps.

I can speak with some knowledge of Thai cuisine. I lived for years in the Southeast Asian country of Singapore and I have frequently traveled within Thailand. Good Thai cooking balances tart and sweet, salty, sour and spicy; the initial bold assault on your senses (and, if it’s particularly spicy, on your sinuses) will soon give way to a burst of flavor: basil, cilantro, coconut milk.

An appetite for Toomie’s

The menu is extensive. There are 30-odd selections on the lunch menu, about 120 on the dinner list. The spiciest items are marked with tiny chili peppers. Most items are moderately ”hot”; diners whose palates don’t like that burn will want to specify to their server that they prefer a mild preparation. Diners who crave extreme spice can request a condiments tray that includes sliced and dried chilies as well as nam pla, a fish sauce with red and green chilies. (Toomie’s has 10 different types of chilies, or prig, ranging from mild to extremely hot.)

Lunches are all-inclusive plates: Entrees, priced a mere $4.95 to $6.50, are accompanied by a house salad (romaine lettuce, tomato wedges, sliced cucumber and hard-boiled egg with a peanut-vinegar dressing), steamed rice and an orange wedge. They also include pahd Thai, a well-known dish of fried rice noodles with bean sprouts, green onion and bits of chicken.

A good choice of lunch entree for more timid diners, perhaps used to Chinese food, is sweet-and-sour prawns. These come in a mild tomato-based sauce with carrots, celery and pineapple. Spring rolls are another safe choice; finely chopped chicken is mixed with cabbage, onions, mushrooms and ”glass” noodles (made from mung beans), wrapped in wonton skins, deep-fried and served with plum sauce.

More adventurous diners might opt for a curry. A favorite of mine is green curry, a moderately spicy dish with chicken or pork and vegetables. Thai curries are very different from Indian curries, many of which are turmeric yellow. Green curry blends a great many spices, including coriander, cumin, kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic and coconut milk.

The best way to enjoy dinner is to come with a group of friends and dine family style. Four of us dropped by for a recent meal, and we were delighted with everything.

We began with tom yum goong, the classic Thai soup in a light but spicy broth with shrimp, straw mushrooms, lemon grass, tomatoes and cilantro. Next on the menu came larb moo, a minced-pork salad with chilies, cilantro, basil leaves and red onions, along with romaine and white cabbage. Some Thai restaurants leave the green leaves large enough to wrap the spicy meat mixture; I consider it a shortcoming that Toomie’s cabbage slices are so thin that you have to eat this salad with a fork.

Our nuah paht kah tien (sliced beef, stir-fried with fresh garlic, green onions, mushrooms and bell peppers) was delicious, but we gave even more kudos to the gaeng gai (a red chicken curry with bamboo shoots, red and green peppers and basil leaves). We accompanied this with a fried-rice dish that included egg, onions and tomatoes.

For dessert, we shared a terrific purple (unhusked) rice pudding in coconut milk. It’s one of my favorite Asian sweets, and it’s hard to find even at Thai restaurants in Portland and Seattle.

The dining experience

Seating at Toomie’s is in two sections on two levels. The decor is clean and simple: some Thai masks and other art, scattered greenery, a big mirror on one wall. Expansive windows onto Minnesota Avenue make for good people-watching for diners seated beside them, but the inverse is also true: Pedestrians can’t seem to keep themselves from gawking into Toomie’s. Perhaps tinted glass could minimize this awkward intrusion.

Service is fine. It’s not outstanding, but it’s fine. The black-clad servers, most of them young men, could be Boy Scouts if they were wearing khaki. They are courteous, kind, cheerful and have a working knowledge of the menu, but they don’t seem to bring particular passion to their jobs.

If I have any major issue with Toomie’s, it has to do with the wait for tables. So popular is the restaurant that, midday and weekend evenings, there can be a substantial delay in seating. Reservations are taken only for larger parties. This might not be so bad if there were a proper waiting area; instead, there are two simple chairs and a lot of standing room, often blocking new arrivals at the door. Try to arrive early (before noon for lunch, before 6 p.m. for dinner).

COMING NEXT WEEK: SOUTH BEND BISTRO in Sunriver

TOOMIE’S THAI CUISINESCORECARD

Location: 119 N.W. Minnesota Ave., Bend

Hours: Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays; dinner 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 5:30-10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Price Range: Lunch $4.95-$6.50, dinner entrees $11.95-$18.95

Credit Cards: American Express, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Kids’ Menu: No

Alcoholic Beverages: Full bar

Reservations: Accepted only for parties of five or more

Contact: 388-5590

Overall: A-

Food: A. You won’t find more authentic Thai cuisine east of the Cascades in Oregon.

Service: B+. Black-garbed servers are courteous, friendly and helpful but seem to lack enthusiasm.

Atmosphere: B+. Clean and comfortable, but the outside-looking-in gawkers are a distraction.

Value: B. Lunch is one of downtown’s best bargains, but the same dishes on the dinner menu are overpriced.