Siam Cuisine may be the only Asian restaurant in the area to adhere to locavore principles, but if it’s raised hereabouts then Chef A.J. Kaewiium will find a use for it. That includes venison sausage in a basil dish, the freshest Asian eggplants you can imagine and, of course, locally grown herbs. The restaurant also features an array of regional banquets, so you can explore the various cuisines of Thailand.

Want an endorphin rush from those chiles? Just ask for a dish “A.J. hot”, and you’ll be served something utterly incendiary. Better, perhaps, to work your way up through the curries (red, green, yellow, Panang), the noodle dishes, soups, or stir-fries. Don’t want it too spicy? Just tell the personable and attentive staff; they’ll also take your request to make any dish vegetarian with tofu, where appropriate.

The pad Thai is a tad sweet, but it’s probably popular for that very reason. Gaeng Jued Woon Sen, with crystal noodles, is a more balanced representation of the classic Thai sweet, sour, salty, and hot. Regulars are more likely to wander through the dozens of options available, though it’s hard on Fridays not to order the house potato soup. Ease it down with a pleasantly sweet and bitter Thai tea, a chai variation that may take some getting used to, but quickly proves addicting.

Siam’s elegant, tranquil interior, in bamboo and tan colors, belies its strip-mall setting.