Piquant Ginger & Spice

andy and i took a little work trip over to Marble Falls, TX. truth be told, he was on the job and i was lounging and reading by the lake that robbed this little town of its namesake. when the Colorado River was dammed in 1951, the water level rose to cover the shelves of limestone that formed the water falls. also noteworthy is the fact that all the pink granite used to build the Texas Capitol building was mined from this city.after asking some locals for recommendations, we debated about which of the 2 ‘real’ restaurants we wanted to try. we chose well.


ginger & spice is a fairly new addition
to the town which is about 40 miles northeast of Austin. upon entering we immediately recognized its authenticity echoed in the staccato thai language being traded behind the long wooden bar that ran the length of one wall. our cute and somewhat awkward server greeted us with a mixture of trepidation and eagerness. after discerning that he was a reliable source (he’d moved to Marble Falls from Bangkok several months earlier to work at his family’s restaurant) and questioning him about several menu items, we settled on masaman curry and ginger beef.


the masaman was a thick stew of potatoes, peanuts and carrots in a coconut and curry spice blend broth. really tasty even though it lacked the layers of flavor that can elevate rich curries to a truly fabulous level.

the vegetables were as perfectly crisp as the meat was tender in the ginger beef. slivers of aromatic ginger were plentiful and could’ve run the risk of overpowering the thin gravy had we not been lovers of the tangy tuber.

our server’s uncle approached the table and plucked andy’s camera up explaining that he’s a photo-graffer. they talked about picture taking as i discussed travel with our waiter. the employees were constantly berating and joking with each other in a good natured, broken English kind of way and warmly invited us to join in the fun by explaining cultural tidbits and inside jokes.

andy snapped these shots as we had an after-dinner beer overlooking the water at river city grill. a nice view but none of the charm of the Thai restaurant.

we had a really great experience at ginger & spice. what the food was lacking in depth was more than compensated for by the warm personalities of the family who own the place. if you’re ever in Marble Falls, i recommend you stop in.