The opening of the restaurant was eagerly awaited by locals who have complained they haven't had a downtown source of Thai food since the site occupied by a Thai restaurant three years ago was cleared to make way for Hotel Los Gatos. "We came here because we were needed," Visit says, noting that they had to wait two years to find a restaurant location. Remodeling and permitting took another four months. They presently are awaiting a beer and wine license. "A lot of our new customers left when they found out we didn't have beer or wine," he adds. "Please tell them we'll have it next week."

The new restaurant already has some loyal fans. A menu from a Thai restaurant in Florida came in the mail last week with notations like "terrible peanut sauce!" written all over it by a Los Gatos customer named Michael, who evidently was spoiled by the food he had eaten at Thai-rific. "We have the best peanut sauce," Visit says, smiling proudly and giving credit to his chef and sister, Saisunee, who runs the kitchen. Saisunee adds coconut from Thailand to make the peanut sauce creamy. She recommends it served over an appetizer of chicken satay—small, marinated cubes of chicken grilled on skewers—for $6.95.

Another interesting appetizer is the chef's invention—Thai-style ravioli. Squares of egg dough are stuffed with chicken and shrimp and topped with garlic. "No other restaurants here have this," Visit claims. Both Visit and Saisunee point to the curry dishes as their personal favorites. Chicken, pork ($7.95), duck and seafood ($9.95) come with a hot and spicy gravy flavored with the Indian herb. "Curry from India is a little heavier, so we make it lighter with coconut from Thailand," Visit explains. More of his recommendations include a crab roll ($6.95) and Thailand's most well-known noodle dish—pad thai ($7.95), a stir-fried combination of rice noodles, tofu, shrimp, crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, garlic, chiles and eggs and nam pla (fish-sauce seasoning).

"Good food should be simple," Visit philosophizes. It does require a lot of advance preparation, he admits, but the flavors are distinct—combinations of sweet and sour and salt. Dishes are either steamed or stir-fried and can be topped with a dessert of sticky rice and fresh mangos or fried bananas and ice cream.

Visit, 49, is one of 12 children born in Bangkok. He immigrated to San Francisco 20 years ago with two of his sisters. Visit agrees that food preparation is a good starting place for immigrants in America. "It's good to have something to eat," he agrees, flashing an always-ready grin. "You don't starve in this business."

Thai-rific Thai, located at 217 N. Santa Cruz Ave. in Los Gatos, is open daily 11:30 a.m.­10:30 p.m., including holidays. For information, call 408.354.2002.