Latest visit: Feb 2021
First visit: Feb 2020
As mentioned in the Thai Cafe (Prescott Valley) post, Thai food in Colorado Springs has been mostly a miss affair. But there are a couple we enjoy, including Arharn Thai. But not at the level of the aforementioned Thai Cafe, and certainly not what we left behind in NE Tarrant (Sea Siam, Sweet Basil, Magic Springroll, etc...). We keep hoping...
Arharn Thai is a small-ish restaurant, very clean, and feels a bit more upscale. Because of the pandemic, they moved to counter ordering. And they then deliver the food to your table. On our one visit in the midst of all this crap, during the summer of 2020, Arharn made us feel like lepers. We had to register our entire medical history (OK, not really... but they did take some data down), they only had one table, everything was served on plastic trays, and people eyed us warily as they picked up their to-go orders. I told Mrs. RJG right then that I wasn't going out to a sit down restaurant again until this was over. Well it's not over, but since January things seem more back to normal. So we're going out again, as noted in our 2021 kickoff post.
For Arharn Thai, they still take your phone number, but there's more seating available, and you get real utensils. They're not quite ready to "open up" as others have, but it's a much better experience. Alright, this is all early-2021 topical, so let's get on with more time tested reviews - the food.
The menu has a gringo approach to it, and as such, I mostly stuck with Thai fried rice, which they do very well. But on this visit, I happened to notice they have Larb Salad. That means they have ground chicken. Maybe they really can make my favorite Basil Chicken - Thai style. Sure enough they can. With a fried egg on top and Thai hot! They do a very good job at it too. Plenty of white rice (perfectly cooked) is offered, though the meal portion was a little light. Mild complaint. As for the heat level, it would be what I'd call a 4 out of 5, so definitely packed a punch, but I wanted to be slayed. Oh well, probably better for me I wasn't. Mrs RJG went for their Red Curry, her first time to try it here. She was quite pleased. For Mrs RJG, if we can just go back to Thai restaurants - ANY Thai restaurant - she'd be happy.
Oh, I almost forgot - appetizer. We ordered the shrimp blanket. It's weird. They basically roll fried egg noodles over a cooked shrimp. It's messy. Never seen anyone do this before, but it wasn't what we'd hoped for. We'll get something else next time.
No alcohol is served, which is a major bummer for us who associate white wine with Thai food. And unlike Texas, BYOB is not legal here. So water it is. Dinner was followed by a visit to one of our great local breweries. Can't keep us down too long it appears.
3/12/20; 7/31/20; 3/2/21 (new entry)
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