Thai Select | 472 9th Avenue #A (9th Avenue, between 36th and 37th Streets)
The first time we go to Thai Select, my group's favorite place for Friendsday because of its great cocktails and low prices, it's the end of March. I'm about to move — just days from it — into my new apartment. My job begins the next week. And that dinner marks the end of winter, all of us at a table together. My group begins as scattered friends of mine. We come together Valentine's Day and from there, continue. Just a month later, we're getting drinks together and hanging out once a week at least. Multiple times now.
The first time I go to Thai Select, I get a mango fruit salad and am taken by its colorful presentation. The second time I stop by, just last week in May, I get fruit fried rice. Every dish the place serves is bright and verdant. Service is quick, prices are low, quality is high.
We sit at the back from 7 to 9, chatting, laughing, reflecting on the season ahead (in March, spring; in May, summer). Things are constantly changing, but we're still together and closer. We still have our table, our rainbow dishes and drinks. Thai Select is more than a dinner venue. It's our dinner spot, our place to unite, reflect and savor a little consistency in a constantly moving and progressing city — in our constantly moving and progressing postgrad lives. I expect to spend many more evenings there, or hope I do at least (and luckily, their long menu will keep us plenty entertained dish-wise).