Local restaurant Nai Thai 2 will be hosting a visit from America’s Best Restaurants in mid-February 2023. 

America’s Best Restaurants, a national media and marketing company focusing on local, independently-owned restaurants, will bring its ABR Roadshow to the restaurant on February 13th. Popular dishes will be highlighted, along with an extensive on-camera interview with co-owners Larry Balio and his wife Thanyakarn Singkonart-Balio about the restaurant’s special place in the community. The episode will be aired extensively on social media channels at a later date. 

Thanyakarn Singkonart-Balio, known as ‘Pik’, grew up in a small village in northeastern Thailand. She and her two sisters, known as ‘Apple’ and ‘Bim’, learned to cook traditional Thai food from their mother. 

Special dishes that will likely be included in the episode include Northern Thai Curry (“not on a lot of other Thai menus” notes Larry),  Pad Thai, and Papaya Salad, which has a special place in the Singkonart family history.

“When my wife and her sisters were in Thailand, growing up, her mom would make papaya salad to sell to school teachers, neighbors – and that’s basically how she put these kids through college, was selling papaya salad,” recalls Larry, noting his wife and her sisters would deliver the salad to customers on their lunch break from school.

“If they can sell papaya salad to Thai people, it’s got to be pretty good.” 

The restaurant recently also opened Tiger Milk Boba and Smoothies in the same space, serving fruit and milk teas, espresso drinks, smoothies and Thai specialty drinks. 

America’s Best Restaurants will be filming on location on February 13th from 1 pm to 4 pm EST. Nai Thai 2’s finished episode premiere date will be announced on their Facebook page and will be featured on America’s Best Restaurants’ website.