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It is that time of year when we pause and give thanks for small blessings. And among these I count Uptown, where my husband and I (who are saving up to send a kid to college) have had a succession of brilliant but inexpensive Saturday night dates.

In this era of Transformers on 16 screens, where else can you find FIVE quality first-run films playing in a space of three blocks? Parking is free if you're willing to walk a quarter-mile or so. And after the movie, there are no less than a dozen dirt-cheap places serving hot, tasty (mostly Asian) food. In the past couple months alone, we've seen Into the Wild, No Country for Old Men, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and I'm Not There. We've eaten at the Lotus, Kinhdo, and Tum Rup Thai. Movie tickets are $8.25 apiece; and dinner usually costs less than $35, wine, tip and all.

Last weekend, we went to Amazing Thailand for the first time. It was after No Country and there were many things to discuss: What was the significance of Tommy Lee Jones' dreams? Was the dark mood of the film ironic or merely dystopian? Did the sinister-yet-clever airgun bit hold up over a period of two hours? Was the taciturn anti-hero evil, amoral, or simply a man with a solid work ethic, getting the job done?

It turns out Amazing Thailand is a wonderful place to deconstruct: garishly neon on the exterior, it's actually soft and dim and acoustically pleasant inside. We ordered stuffed chicken wings with broccoli in garlic sauce and pad thai with mock duck at their top spice level (5). Tucked snugly into a back corner, we held hands and ate off a single plate. The dishes were robust: not nearly so fiery as promised (we asked for extra chile sauce) but warm and good and full of flavors as obvious -- and as comforting -- as colorful baby blocks. And the total for our late meal? Twenty-six dollars, with enough food left over to feed a nearly college-age kid his hefty midnight snack.

I lived in Providence for a year, where I had to drive to Seekonk, Massachusetts, and pay $10 a ticket (in 2002), in order to catch an independent film. Parking was impossible. The theater was surrounded by Applebee-like chains. I learned how hard life can be.

So today, I give thanks for rugged, snow-covered Minnesota with its accessible culture and incredibly cheap pad thai.