Location is everything. Or at least almost everything.

A restaurant situated on the right corner can thrive for decades, even though a spot just a block away would be the kiss of death. Sure, service, value and the food can trump the address, but it is tough.

That’s how you know that Taste of Thai Spice must be very good. It sits at what, for civilians, is effectively a dead-end street populated with a strip club, and a few dive bars and pawnshops. It shares a dingy strip mall with a porno store and a drug paraphernalia shop. And every day the place is packed.

Order the green curry ($9 at lunch, $10 at dinner), and you’ll see why. An enticing plume of ground chiles and galangal root (a limey cousin of ginger) wafts up from the rich, pea-green broth in which long fronds of Thai basil float like kelp in the tide. In the depths swims a species rarely seen in Colorado Springs: the golf-ball-size Thai eggplant — green and striped and good for soaking up the lovely coconut broth. Schools of julienned bamboo shoots add crunch. Rice on the side cuts the formidable heat. The whole thing is served fast and with a smile.

Since the restaurant is so close to Fort Carson, almost all in the lunch crowd are dressed in camouflage. It is fun to watch privates try to impress one another by ordering their meals “Thai hot,” then sweating and swearing through the peppery pain.

A good place on the menu to start is the Tom-Yum-Goong, ($12) a hot and sour soup that arrives in a big, earthen pot warmed by an open flame. Lift the steaming lid and you’ll find big chunks of tomato, wood ear mushroom and bamboo bobbing with shrimp in an aromatic, citrusy broth spiked with fresh lime juice, lime leaves, lemon grass, slender dried chiles and tart galangal.

One pot yields several bowls, which gives diners a chance to assess the spice level, since every Thai place uses the same scale —mild, medium, hot, and Thai hot — but at every place it means something different. Here, medium will make you sweat. Thai hot could probably be used to strip paint.

Some dishes are unapologetically mild. The Tropical sweet and sour ($9 at lunch, $10 at dinner) is a fresher take on the Chinese classic with a light, pineapple-based sauce over tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers and a choice of proteins.

Others are meant to pack fire. The rich peanut and coconut milk base of the panang curry ($10 at lunch, $11 at dinner) almost demands some heat to cut through the thick, delicious sauce.

Cool off by ordering a salad of fresh green papaya (which is more crunchy than sweet) tossed with garlic, tomato, sugar and lime juice ($10).

Taste of Thai Spice has won Best Thai from The Gazette staff for several years running, but not everything is stellar. The mix of capillary-thin, clear rice noodles, cabbage, soy sauce and Thai seasonings in the Pad-won-sen ($11) arrived mushy and unimpressive compared with other entrees.

The egg rolls ($3 for 2) were crisp and fresh, but undistinguished.

And while the service is always friendly and excellent, the dining room is dim and desperately in need of a makeover.

None of these quibbles, or the disastrous address, hurt the bottom line: This is authentic, delicious Thai, served fast at reasonable prices.

Taste of Thai Spice★★★★(hidden gem)Address: 1609 Lashelle WayPhone: 226-1999Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays through SaturdaysEntrees: $9-$11Vegetarian: yesAlcohol: noCredit cards: yes

Taste of Thai Spice on 1609 LaShelle Way offers favorites like Pad Thai,front and Thai tea right. Also Pad King,left back, and curry dishes like red curry,right, back. Photo by CAROL LAWRENCE, THE GAZETTE