Expansion has killed more restaurants than bad food ever has. – ELV
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First, a little history. ELV’s office used to be a mile or so from Archi’s Thai original location, so he estimates he’s eaten there at least a dozen times over the years. Second, you should know a Thai client, whose name was something like Chaiyaanunt Krungthepmahanakornamornratanakosinmahintarayutthayamahadilokphopnopparatrajathaniburiromudomrajaniwesmahasatharnamornphimarnavatarnsathitsakkattiyavisanukamprasit, took him there two times maybe five years ago, after swearing it was the best Thai in all of Vegas, and the only place “all the local Thai people go” — so ELV used to be impressed with its bona fides.
We lost touch with Archi’s for the last few years during our downtown sojourn, but eagerly drove up last week to re-sample what we’ve always considered the very good food from maybe the second or third best Thai restaurant in Vegas.
Wrong.
Something has obviously happened to the original Archi’s. Maybe it’s the expansion — the dining room has doubled in size — or maybe its the expansion — there are now several Archi’s around the valley — but what came to our table was several notches below the finely tuned, highly spiced cuisine we remembered.
Gummy, pasty spring rolls — so tame they wouldn’t have offended Aunt Edna — insipid sauces, and a silver noodle salad promising shrimp and peanuts that had exactly two, undercooked shrimpy shrimp, and six peanuts in it. It also tasted like someone just threw some Thai pepper seasoning on top of it as it was leaving the kitchen, and possessed none of the deeply-spiced heat we used to associate with this place..
An off day? Perhaps, but from the time we walked in until we left, we got the distinct feeling this place was just going through the motions…and one that had lost whatever mojo it once had.
You have been warned.
ELV’s lunch for one came to $25.51, including a five dollar tip.
ARCHI’S THAI KITCHEN
6360 West Flamingo Road Ste. A
Las Vegas, NV 89103
702.880.5550
Gummy, pasty pad thai is what we found when we ate at the one on Rainbow. We like Basil and Lime, as well as Panna (both on Ft Apache)
I heard the female chef who used to work at the original one, opened up her own restaurant on Ft Apache near Tropicana.
And what was your name again? Something like Johannah Keourspissolottoguff?
I used to go to the Archi’s on W. Flamingo all the time until one very unpleasant dinner there about a year ago. Don’t ask me who the heck was in the kitchen, but they made a Pad Thai that tasted like it came out of a can. Heck, Chef Boyardee could probably make a better Pad Thai. It was so awful that I’ll never go back to Archi’s again.
Hmmmmm….a quick trip over to Bankok the other day and I found a fantastic place, “May Kaidee” in the Old City, 33 Samsen Rd best vegetarian I’ve had in a long time. Plates around 2 to 3 usd! If you are used to immaculately clean you should take a pass and you can’t let the neighborhood scare you away. If you can’t make it to May Kaidee, then Lotus of Siam is a great second place.