Thai Cafe

Thai Cafe has been cooking in Durham for years, and the Wake Forest restaurant on Rogers Road serves the same menu. Oddy and Kanchana built it around the food of Bangpoo, their home village southeast of Bangkok on the Gulf of Thailand.

The cooking follows the Thai balance of salty, sweet, sour and bitter, with heat on top of all four. Dishes are made to order from fresh ingredients, and you can eat in or carry out, with online ordering set up separately for each location.

What to know

• Ingredients are cut small so the seasoning reaches more of each piece.
• Smaller pieces also stay crisp when they hit the wok.
• The owners set prices low enough to encourage people to eat here often.
• A clean dining room and attentive service were part of the original plan.