From Thailand to Plattsmouth

In the heart of the Great Plains, nestled in bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, is Sisters Cafe. A pair of butterflies brandishing the colors of Thailand and Germany rest on a sign dangling above Main Street, a wonderful place where you can get a German beer and a glass of Thai Tea.

Sisters Cafe is the product of two Thai sisters who left home, one of whom married a German man along the way, and opened a restaurant in Nebraska. The cafe offers a menu of half Thai and half German food. Not a fusion, just two authentically prepared types of food offered in one cozy room.

I’ve never been a regular at a restaurant before, I had thought that the idea of being a regular had gone away with crowded cities and rotating restaurant staff. But, with the marriage of a small town and a family owned business, I got to enjoy the lovely privilege of being known and remembered by a business.

Every Friday evening, I would drive my thirty minute commute from south of town and my girlfriend, a thirty minute commute north from Omaha, rushing home to get back before Sisters closed. If I was late, we’d place an order for pick-up so we wouldn’t keep the staff there late, but if we had the time we always chose to eat there. We got to know some of the staff, learn about their history, about Thailand, about Germany, and get a chance to connect to people every week. An occasional free drink, a warm greeting, a place where everybody knows your name...And of course, the time I ordered a 5/5 spicy curry and was crying halfway through the meal and our server brought me a free ice cream because the chefs “felt so bad for me.”

It wouldn’t be much of a review if I failed to mention the food. Not only did my girlfriend and I get to enjoy warm hospitality every week, but I’ve yet to enjoy better Thai food than what I had in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Easily the last place I would expect great Thai food but there it was, only adding to the appeal of Sisters was finding a jewel hidden away in rural corn fields. Perfect crispy chicken, a wide array of delicious curries, tasty schnitzels, sides of rice formed into a lovely heart shape, and a warm, creamy coconut soup for cold Nebraska evenings. No meal ever disappointed, but every visit was a struggle to not order the crispy chicken. It was the gold standard of the restaurant. So good, that years later when we moved away from Nebraska, my then girlfriend and now wife’s family drove hours out of the way on a trip to Wisconsin to visit Sisters and the crispy chicken again. As I wasn’t on this particular trip, I considered asking my wife if she’d pick me up a to-go plate, one that I would've had to eat days later, road traveled with no ice. Although I didn’t end up going through with it, I regret not ordering the food after finding out that according to a quick google search, Sisters is permanently closed.

While writing this review, I was informed that Sisters Cafe is now closed. Heart-broken, and from what I can only assume is the result of more devastation caused by the Covid pandemic, I had a difficult time beginning to write this. I decided to go through with the article to let people know of a great story and love brought to the middle of the Great Plains by two sisters from Thailand. I hope they come back, I hope the next time I drive through Nebraska, or maybe somewhere else in the world, I’ll find a sign with a pair of butterflies brandishing the colors of Thailand and Germany dangling over Main Street.