wine & dine

Tracy Thai is a family-owned restaurant serving authentic Thai cuisine and located in the heart of Downtown Tracy. Owned by Gesaranee Wongphiboonrat, Tracy Thai has been serving its community since 2006 and doesn’t have plans to quit anytime soon.

Thai food is very popular in the West. Known for pairing simple ingredients with balanced spices and aromatics, Thai food falls into four categories: tom (boiled dishes), yam (spicy salads), tam (pounded foods), and kaeng (curries).

evoking exotic travels. The bar invites guests to take a seat and stay awhile, and the impressive list of picturesque cocktails are a welcome companion to any meal.

“All of our menu items are made fresh from scratch,” says Gesaranee. “We are prepping veggies every day, we make all of our sauces ourselves, we wrap all of our eggrolls and spring rolls by hand.”

Tracy Thai stays true to traditional Thai cooking. Their Tom Kha Gai soup has creamy coconut milk with chicken, galangal (of the ginger family), mushroom, and lemongrass. Its flavor is both sweet and sour. The Crying Tiger, tender

Thai cuisine has been influenced by neighboring countries such as India, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It’s often served with a fluffy side of rice (white, but you can substitute brown or wild if you prefer), and the idea is to mix your proteins and veggies into the rice, allowing its flavors to be evenly distributed throughout every bite.

Inside of Tracy Thai, you will be delighted by the calming environment of the dining room. Cozy, dark wood-paneled walls surround the dining tables adorned with plush, mustard yellow chairs and seating arrangements large enough to accommodate the whole family. Beaded and wood-carved art hangs on the walls strips of steak with fresh black pepper and savory garlic sauce served with green beans and rice, will leave your belly happy and lips smiling. Don’t forget to try an appetizer. Our pick? The Crispy Egg Rolls. They’re filled with silver noodles, cabbage, carrot, taro, and served with sweet and sour sauce.

For those who are new to Thai cuisine, Gesaranee suggests beginning with some of the restaurant’s versions of the country’s most celebrated dishes. Yellow Curry, Basil Chicken, Chicken Satay, and Garlic Prawns are all excellent places to start. Loyal customers are in favor of the Kiew Soup, which has stuffed wonton, chicken, shrimp, spinach, carrot, celery, and bok choy in chicken broth. They also love the Oriental Chicken Salad, a bed of crispy lettuce with savory marinated chicken, sweet apple, crunchy cashew, tomato, onion, cucumber, and crispy noodle, served with a chef’s special dressing.

Both the mango and salmon salads are crowd pleasers. If those aren’t enough ideas to get you excited for Thai, stick with Gesaranee‘s favorites—eggplant with sauteed pork, chili, garlic, bell pepper, and sweet basil, and the BBQ Pork, which is grilled and marinated with chili-garlic sauce. “All of our dishes can be customized to fit your dietary needs, such as gluten-free, or vegetarian,” Gesaranee says. “Just tell us what you need and we always do our best to accommodate.”