Traditional Thai

OF THE LAKE 2022 The Official Community Choice Awards

One Delicious

PLATE AT A TIME

Story by CONNYE GRIFFIN | Photography by AL GRIFFIN

Foods that feed the eye and satisfy the palate are what diners expect from fine dining. After ordering, there’s time for conversation before those plates of food arrive, and quite often, people linger after their last bite. All of that and more is what Wok-NRoll delivers, one delicious plate at a time.

In 2007, when owner and chef Nok Knernschield opened Wok-N-Roll, it was almost a one-woman show. Nok greeted customers, took orders, cooked and served food, then cleaned everything in a tiny space on Bagnell Dam Boulevard. In the intervening 15 years, the restaurant has grown to offer more seating under soft lights glowing against vibrant walls. The kitchen is much larger for better workflow, but Nok still greets newcomers and long-time customers, tosses fresh ingredients into seasoned woks, and monitors the flames as she brings Pad Thai and spicy curries to life.

Nok began learning about flavor and kitchens in the family home in Thailand so cooking was a natural career path when she grew old enough to help support her siblings. Working in restaurants, Nok expanded her palate and skills. She learned about Korean and Indian flavorings, and she liked them all. That’s why Wok-N-Roll’s daily specials have international flair.

However, Wok-N-Roll consistently offers menu items customers love. One of them is Nok’s Fried Rice, the restaurant’s signature dish and a variation on traditional fried rice. Nok’s is a mountain of golden rice with translucent onion pieces, bright red and green peppers, and a touch of spice under a cilantro garnish. Most important, it is delicious as are Nok’s Thai Dumplings, another tasty appetizer thanks to Nok’s special talents.

Determined to offer good nutrition and complex flavors, Nok blends grains of brown rices for menu items such as Masaman Curry. Customers can still request white rice or a single brown rice grain if they prefer. In fact, customers can make special requests, and if the ingredients are on hand and time is available, Nok will deliver on that request. At all times, customers can choose from vegetarian, GMO-free, and gluten-free options.

Most customers trust Nok’s tastes and choices. They have been supporting her restaurant since it opened, and as Nok says, people know quality in ingredients and flavors.

Nok gives credit for her success to her Thai family who initiated her training, but that family has expanded to include the greater Lake community in which Nok has great confidence in spite of challenging days behind and ahead. Nok believes in the Lake’s magnetism. Even as some prices rise, she thinks state residents will travel more right here at home and the Lake season will be among the best.

Nok will do what she can to make sure the future is bright for Lake of the Ozarks. She has a long-standing habit of giving back to schools, fire departments, and service projects. They are part of her extended family as is the restaurant staff. Each one pitches in as needed to paint a vibrant square or stripe on the eye-catching art wall, to wait on customers, or brew another pitcher of fresh, steeped tea.

One essential team member is absent, however. Nok’s dear husband, Dennis, passed in 2020. The grief was almost insurmountable, and her heart still misses the man with whom she shared more than three decades of 24/7 togetherness. Her daughter, an attorney in Virginia, helps her carry on with daily communications, but the work Nok and Dennis began in 2007 still calls, still demands, and still provides. Wok-N-Roll is that business, and Nok carries on with his memory held closely in her heart. Diners are the beneficiaries. Wok-N-Roll is a great restaurant for fine dining in a casual atmosphere on the Boulevard.

WOK-N-ROLL

1359 Bagnell Dam Blvd. Lake Ozark 573-365-2090 Open Tuesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Carry-out available