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Dick Simcoe

Posted by HenryJames on July 6th, 2009 under Uncategorized

Dick Simcoe passed away on June 11th. I came to know Dick and his wife Surin through their restaurant Little Thailand, the first Thai restaurant in Central Texas. It is also the best. Eating there is like going to someone’s home and having their mother cook for you while their dad serve you drinks and imparts his wisdom. I don’t hesitate to say that it’s my favorite restaurant in Austin.

You should want to go to there.

Surin and her sister Malee did the cooking, and Dick helped with the orders and ran the bar in the back. Dick’s Lounge. Oh man. What a place. When Bergstom closed down, Dick was able to get the bar from the officer’s club and move it to his restaurant. He made the best Thai bloody marys. Scratch that. He made the best bloody marys period. He has an old ‘60s jukebox that plays 45 records for free (“hold it down until you hear a click”), and he would sometimes have a box of newly hatched chicks under a lamp. Nothing seemed out of place. And Dick made sure you never felt out of place.

Dick was originally born in Hawaii and enlisted in the Air Force a month after graduating from Austin High. Eventually rising to the rank of major and flew gunships during two tours of duty in Vietnam. After retiring from the military, he ran charters from the Philippines to both Bangkok and Hong Kong. His business was doing very well at the expense of the large commercial airlines “so the Philippine government gave me two weeks to leave the country.”

He then moved to Texas and opened the original Little Thailand in 1981. Dick originally had a trailer near the back of Bergstrom AFB, and the pilots were allowed to sneak out for lunch in order to get their Thai food fix. When the base closed, he moved the restaurant to its current location under the water tower in Garfield.

You always listened to Dick when ordering. If he told you to order the dish with chicken, you did. Because he was inevitably right. It always tasted better Dick’s way. And don’t put his hot sauce in your soup. You put dry spice on wet and vice versa. Again he was right. I’ve eaten at plenty of Thai restaurants, but I don’t order some tom, yom nua or lop nua anywhere else. They’re nowhere close to being as good as they are at Little Thailand.

Former Faces keyboardist and Manor resident Ian McLaglan would try to schedule his flights back into Austin during the hours that the restaurant was open. He wasn’t the only one. I still do it. I’ve even had a birthday party there, and Dick gave me a Little Thailand pen and daily planner that I will not dare write in.

He used to always greet us with ‘Hey kids’ when we walked through the door. It’ll be hard not hearing those words anymore.

Rest in peace, Dick.

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16 Responses

  1. Texoz said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Bummer. I’ll file this under “regret.” Last year I worked in Bastrop for 6 months and commuted back & forth from Austin every day right past that place. After living in LA for 16 years I had plenty of good Thai food so I wanted to find some here. Thai Tara on 6th is okay, but not great. I had a number of people tell me to eat at Little Thailand, but never did.

    I can/will go to Little Thailand, but now regret missing out on part of the experience.

    This reminds me that I would like to create a list of things/places etc that are Must Do in Austin.

    In the last year we lost the owners of Dry Creek and Top Notch, plus Las Manitas closed down. We can all debate on validity of some places, but it’s still worth getting the word out to help preserve what makes Austin a great town.

    No telling how much longer places like Dry Creek or Little Thailand will stay open once their original owners pass on.

    Before we get too close to football season, one of you guys should create the quintessential Austin experience list.

  2. Vasherized said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 6:38 am

    I played in his golf tournament the last five years out at Pine Forest and it always attracted a great collection of people, most of whom aren’t really golfers which made the event all the more entertaining.

    A case of beer and 18 holes later we’d retire back to the restaurant for a boiled steak (unfortunately they never served Thai food after the event), Sriracha bloodies, prize raffles, cash poker games and a healthy drinking session on the vinyl padded bar. After a nice buzz it’s always fun to lean back and stare at the 30 yr old collection of business cards stuck in the ceiling over the bar, i.e., HenryJames – pederast, pantywaist, and pelt peddler.

    Garfield, holla.

  3. Steve Nebraska said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 7:10 am

    At least the Frisco Shop is still around, albeit in a different location. Sorry to hear about this death.

  4. Parlin Hall said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 7:40 am

    Thanks for the write-up, HJ. I must have driven by this place a dozen times in the last couple of years and have never given it a second thought. I’ll definitely stop by in the coming weeks.

    Here’s the address I’ve got, in case anyone is looking for it. Correct me if it’s wrong: 4315 Caldwell Ln, Del Valle, TX‎ – (512) 247-3855‎

  5. Bacon said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 8:06 am

    I’m a Teacher out in Del Valle….and never heard of this place, rest assured that I will be hitting this place up very very soon!! Thanks for the write up.

  6. Inquiring minds said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 8:32 am

    Got any other hidden places to recommend?

  7. Huckleberry said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 8:46 am

    It sounds like you’re saying that Dick Simcoe and Huckleberry are shining examples of the greatness that Austin High can produce.

  8. Jamdog said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 9:16 am

    Great place, great man. Hopefully they’ll press on.

  9. SizzleChest said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 9:40 am

    It sounds like you’re saying that Dick Simcoe and Huckleberry are shining examples of the greatness that Austin High can produce.

    No, he’s saying that even greatness can emerge from the wretched hovel that is Austin High, and Dick Simcoe is an example of how one can overcome the great disadvantage of attending a shit school and still make something great of themselves.

  10. Ben Crenshaw said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 10:22 am

    Hi!

  11. Vasherized said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 10:31 am

    Huckleberry graduated with Cactus Pryor in 1942. Things went downhill from there …

  12. Harvey Penick said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 11:15 am

    Huckleberry was a school chum of mine.

  13. BatesHorn said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 11:18 am

    Sigh.

    And the Austin I loved passes a little farther into the distance.

  14. The General said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 1:09 pm

    Dick and Surin did a great job of making every meal feel like it was in their home, just like HJ said.

    It has been a tough year for local legends. Louie Mueller, Poodie Locke, Stephen Bruton, Danny Young, James Stanish, The Beer Nazi, Farrah Fawcett, and some other people I am sure I am missing.

  15. Vasherized said:

    July 6th, 2009 at 1:29 pm

    Sky Saxon

  16. Dutchie said:

    July 8th, 2009 at 3:33 am

    I have been trying to get out to Little Thailand for a long, long time, but never made the trip.

    My favorite Thai restaurant on earth is actually located in a strip mall near the Forest Creek subdivision in Round Rock. Thai Spoon is a gem of a restaurant, and frankly one of my 5 favorite places in the general Austin area to eat. The Panang Curry with Chicken, as hot as you can tolerate it, is the dish that made me head over heels in love with Thai food. I’ve had about 50% of their menu, and while I would not complain about a single dish, the Panang Curry is what I inevitably end up going back for time and again. It is one of the few reasons I would ever venture into the suburban wasteland known as Round Rock.

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