No one can really remember the interior of the old Thaiku in Ballard. (You can? You're the only one.) My colleague Anna Minard, who went there at least a dozen times during its near-decade of existence, stared blankly when asked about it, then finally said that it was big and dark and high-ceilinged, kind of, question mark? My friend Jill Lightner, the editor of Edible Seattle, e-mailed: "Thaiku used to be kind of dark, lots of wood beams and really crowded tables. Kind of boring." I only went there once, on an awkward date, and was mostly in the bar, which was so full that we awkwardly sat on top of a table that awkwardly didn't have any chairs. It was dark and big (and awkward, though that wasn't its fault, except for the chairs).

Thaiku used to be where brand-new Ballard Annex Oyster House now stands, and the Thai food was extra-good there; people do remember this. Then it shut down, and it was gone for more than a year. Now it has finally reopened on Phinney...

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