MESA ARIZONA, CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE

Where are you right now? Do you wish you were somewhere else?

Instead of working on the wish list of where you’d rather be, take a good look around.

You may be in the center of the universe, like Mesa Arizona.

I hear you ask, “Mesa Arizona? Don’t you mean Phoenix? Or Tempe? Or Scottsdale?”

The center of the universe in Mesa is the cross section of Center and Main.

Like Portland Oregon’s Willamette River and Burnside, Center and Main in Mesa Arizona divide the city into north, east, west, and south quadrants.

It’s where you want to be when you think Mesa is nowhere.

Thai food in Mesa? Not just any Thai food, but the sort that doesn’t rest on spicy heat.

It’s so well balanced that the tables aren’t full of little bottles of flavor enhancements or liquid flame.

Instead, it’s food to eat, not look at, or read about. It feels like authentic Thai food, not street food presented as a novelty for an upscale market. It’s not Pok Pok, and that’s a good thing.

From nunthapornthai.com:

Meals are not prepared in advance – no “fast food” here – which is why our vegetables are crisp and flavorful and our rice is not overcooked, since it is all made to order. Soups are simmered daily and curries are made specifically for the customers’ taste. These homemade recipes served in cultural surroundings are healthy and flavorful.

Too many Thai food restaurants believe diners want the flamethrower on the side.

Nunthaporn Thai takes a different approach. Not only edible, but deliciously so.

Walk down the block to the Arts Center after dinner. Mesa Arizona Arts Center feels unreal at night with the light design and architecture.

In what looks like a movie set in a futuristic world, be ready to board the ship for transport.

Huge masts with sails held by industrial strength cable stretch over the property.

“Why the over-sized cables?” I asked the guard closing up.

“Because we get hurricane force winds during monsoons. Some so strong they’ve shred the sails,” he said.

The next question I asked was whether or not I ought to be on the grounds at this time of night.

It’s a question I like to ask for the ‘just in case.’

He said it was a great place at night. And he was right. Would he have warned me? I think so.

Do you still wish you were somewhere else? It’s a common theme for the restless and weary.

“Anyplace but here,” is the lament. Why?

Because, like many in America, someplace else looks like a better bet.

Here’s my bet: Mesa is growing up with light rail infrastructure and new investment.

Any place with an arts center as developed as this is pulling the sort of funding that creates permanent interest where people come back for more.

To find Mesa Arizona, look for the center of the universe and proceed.

To find the center of the universe in your town, head for the crossroads.

Look at the familiar with new eyes. If that’s not possible, go with someone with better vision than you.