Somewhat surprisingly, there's a nondescript restaurant serving good Thai food on the side of Lee Highway in Fairlawn near Radford. Thai House opened in December 2002 -- more than a year before any Thai restaurants opened in Roanoke -- and it quickly became popular with the locals. I recently had the good fortune of stopping there for lunch after a business trip.

THE VIBE

Thai House has that out-of-the-way, mom-and-pop vibe that makes you feel as though you have stumbled across a secret.

The dining room's ornate teak tables and chairs carved in relief with elephant scenes catch your eye immediately. Each one is exquisite and depicts a different scene. The wall hangings are also worthy of inspection, and plaques mounted beside each one explain the scene in detail.

About 1:30 p.m. on a cloudy day, the restaurant seemed a little more darkly lit than I would prefer. There's a gas fireplace at the head of the dining room though it was not operating during my visit. Because I visited during off-peak weekday hours, there was little activity.

LUNCH

The lunch specials at Thai House are incredibly reasonable -- $6.95 for an entree with soup and a spring roll. I also ordered a crispy won ton appetizer ($3.95) in addition to the special.

It seems to me that most American diners who enjoy Thai food fit into two camps: Those who prefer drunken noodles and those who opt for pad thai. I count myself a loyal fan of the pad thai and chose to have mine with pork as an entree, although chicken, shrimp and beef were also options (the shrimp costs more).

For those accustomed to the egg drop soup found in Chinese restaurants, be aware that Thai House's egg drop soup is very different. This soup was somewhat like a chowder with peas, carrots, celery and corn. It's also on the spicy side, which gave it a delicious and welcome kick.

I had barely finished my soup when my spring roll and won tons arrived. The spring roll was crispy and filled with bean sprouts, minced chicken, noodles and mixed vegetables. Nonetheless, I had difficulty tasting much more than the bean sprouts and the accompanying sweet and sour sauce.

The flavor explosion found in the crispy won tons more than made up for the relatively unexciting spring roll. These won tons are deep fried and stuffed with minced chicken, heavy doses of garlic, black pepper and a little cilantro. The trick is to hold them by the crispy points on top and bite into its "heart" from the bottom. The first thing you will taste is the exhilaration of the garlic followed by the chicken, then the black pepper. Adding just a little sweet and sour sauce will tone it down without overpowering it.

I hadn't even finished the won tons when my pad thai arrived. Crushed peanuts and the traditional lime wedge came perched atop a lettuce leaf to the side of the dish, though I immediately stirred the peanuts into the noodles. This delicious concoction of rice noodles, pork, bean sprouts, tamarind juice, fish sauce, sugar palm, vinegar, shallots, paprika and crushed peanuts utterly satisfied my craving.

THE SERVICE

Because my visit was in the early afternoon, only one or two tables were occupied when I arrived. The young lady who showed me to my seat and took my order spoke English well, but she had to translate when I questioned the cook about some of his dishes. As one would expect with such a small crowd, she took my order promptly. The kitchen was fast and efficient, and I received my soup almost immediately. The rest of my order arrived in quick succession.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Add Thai House to the list of fine Thai restaurants in the region.