Signs up at Sala Thai (on Main St.) report that tomorrow, Oct. 30, is its last day. I enjoyed a delicious Massaman Curry off the menu in honor of the occasion.
I'm theorizing that ethnic places (and I don't really count Mexican, Chinese and even sushi as ethnic here) have a particularly difficult time with the economics of serving mainly a business lunch crowd. Other recent casualties include Vic Ivan, the little cafe on 1st St. that served Ethiopian food (but the proprietors do operate the cafeteria at the Presbyterian Center and serve their ethnic food on Thursdays) and Blue Nile Ethiopian, among others. Of course there was Cafe Kilimanjaro. There hasn't been any Indian food downtown for a long time, except the little store on the corner of Market and Fifth that served a few dishes out of crockpots on Tuesday but discontinued earlier this year (it was very good but little-known).
So, in your quest to keep patronizing establishments that might be struggling, please make a particular special effort to enjoy lunch at gems like Safier, Road to Morocco and Omar Fast Food. And if anyone knows of any well-kept secret ethnic lunch places, let us hear about them.
