Lucky Buamanee and her husband, Apple, whose names are perhaps the best ever, run a Thai restaurant in Wallingford called Silver Tray. Silver trays are traditionally used on special occasions in Thailand, where the Buamanees are from. One such tray is on display in the restaurant, as well as, curiously, a toaster-sized shopping cart with a ribbon on it. When asked about the cart, Lucky said it came from Target. Then she asked for a picture of us together. She and Apple, who came out of the kitchen to greet me, were actually as friendly and cheerful as their names suggest. With a BA in hotel management and 10 years of restaurant experience at the much-praised Buddha Ruksa in West Seattle, she handles Silver Tray's management and accounting, while Apple is head chef.

Silver Tray serves traditional phad thai, made with tamarind juice rather than ketchup. I tried their avocado green curry with fried tofu and one star—though Lucky says she likes everything better with about 10. Each piece of tofu had a divot in it, providing more crispy surface area to trap more green curry. I cleaned my Frisbee-sized plate, containing a glorious multitude of avocado slices, at a potentially dangerous pace. Lucky says she's had interesting and tasty results substituting locally available ingredients, like tuna, for those used in traditional Thai cooking, and she's planning a series of seasonal dishes, starting with pumpkin curry in the fall. Currently, it's the ideal season for Thai iced tea on Silver Tray's patio.