Pad Thai & Pasties

So today was our last day in the U.P. Norman wanted to have a final pasty before leaving Michigan, so I consulted my Lonely Planet guidebook, and checked to see if there was any recommendations. Turns out Marquette not only had a good pasty place, but was home to the "best pad thai in the world". Since we were driving through the town, we thought it fitting to accept the challenge of enjoying both a pasty and pad thai for lunch. After driving along the south shore of Lake Superior, we cruised into Marquette, located the Jean Kay's Pasties & Subs on my iPhone, and pulled into the parking lot. Long story short, we both ordered steak pasty, consumed it (best crust of the three we've had), and then walked outside, wondering where the Thai joint was. We looked around, and realized the Rice Paddy was a block away. But since the JK Pasty lot was for customers only, we got in the car, drove a block down, parked, and strolled into the aforementioned restaurant.

Rupert, the traveling food critic.

Upon entering, we were greeted by a white guy cashier and the owner, Aoy (no idea how to actually pronounce her name). She's apparently quite popular with the college crowd (Marquette is home to Northern Michigan University) and winter Olympic skaters (they have a training facility in town). Anyway, when she sees me, she asks with twinkle in her eye "Are you a spy from the Hong Kong Buffet? No, your English is too good boyfriend." Nice way to be greeted, huh? Apparently she calls everybody girlfriend or boyfriend. Anyway, we order the pad thai, and although she's swamped with orders, she whips up a couple entrees in a couple minutes. Then, having learned that we came because of the "best pad thai in the world", she wants to watch us eat it... The final verdict? Norman, who lives in Ann Arbor, gave it a 8/10 (admitting that he hadn't had pad thai for over a year). And me? Perhaps it's because I lived in Thailand for a year, or maybe that Seattle has some great places too, I rated the food a 4/10. But factoring in Aoy, it bumps up the experience to a solid 7.

So that's was our dining experience for the day... We've got a couple things on our food radar still to eat (egg bakes, pies, and ice cream scoop for N, and the Cracker Barrel for me). Any suggestions on what else we can try? Anything specific to the regions?