Spicy or not, Thai restaurant aims to please

Pinkham Bouasri opened her first restaurant, Papaya Thai, in Rochester last week. (Harrison Thorp photos)

ROCHESTER - If you want to sample Thai food, but don’t know if you’re ready for the full complement of spices inherent in this cuisine, just let Pinkham Bouasri know.

She’ll keep it mild for you.

But if you want the full symphony of exotic Thai flavors that make this Asian food so unique, she’ll do that, too.

“We can do it either way,” says Bouasri, who just last week opened her Papaya Thai Restaurant on North Maine Street.

Bouasri, who immigrated to the United States in 1981, recently moved up to Rochester from Lowell, Mass., and for the first time in her life is getting into the restaurant business.

She said she’s enjoyed sprucing up the restaurant’s interior, beginning with a bright green and inviting décor. She said running the restaurant has been a family affair with her son, her boyfriend and his family all working to make it a success.

She said the main difference between Thai food and other Oriental cuisine is the spices. Thai food traditionally uses a myriad of spices like curry and is known for incorporating disparate tastes that blend into one delightful gastronomical treat.

Pressed on what specific spices make Thai food so tantalizing, Bouasri simply said, “Thai spices.”

Guess we’ll have to try some to figure it out.

Papaya Thai Restaurant, Rochester’s only Thai restaurant, is located at 101 North Main St. The phone number is 603.332.0111.