Aroi Thai ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Aug 2023; Feb 2023 (Mrs. RJG)

First visit: Jan 2019

So they do have wine and beer! OK then, maybe more visits a year.

We are now in our 15th year of this blog and Mrs. RJG has decided to get into the action! I don't think either of us went to Aroi Thai last year. She went solo on this trip. Let's see what her experience was.

---2/3/23 Mrs. RJG notes

I get there around 11:00 and I’m starving for lunch. I’m craving Red Curry with Chicken. I get a hello right away from sweet young lady. I like the jazz lounge music playing in the background, unusual these days - I love it! Already a few people are eating, mainly military "hangry" men. My food arrives - perfect portion for lunch. It's hot and creamy with my favorite vegetables and nicely cut chicken! I ordered medium hot and it was perfect - I enjoyed it a lot! Now I need to find a lady friend to enjoy Thai food with and head to the American Classics antiques afterwards. A perfect day that would be.

---original 4/10/21 review

As you know, Thai food is a favorite of the RJG. We haven't really found the place here in the Springs, but if we were to pick one, it would probably be Aroi Thai which finishes a tad bit over Arharn. They recently moved (as of last month) to the former Bhan Thai location, a place we tried not long after moving here and didn't care for it. Aroi's former location on Powers and Galley was a true hole in the wall. While certainly it was charming in its own way, the pandemic decidedly ruined in-person dining. Their new location is much larger and nicer. The decor seems to indicate that this was once an Italian restaurant. In any case, a welcome development for Aroi Thai, and watching the number of to-go orders along with a fairly good sized sit down crowd, it appears the restaurant is well on its way to making it to the big time.

Which is fine with us. We ordered our staple Butterfly Shrimp. This is a smaller version than we're used to. 5 fairly small fried shrimp - though excellent tasting all the same. Mrs. RJG went with ginger chicken and vegetables. When I looked up, her plate was completely clean. So we'll presume she enjoyed it. Aroi Thai is one of the few places to have traditional Pad Gra Prow (there are various spellings, but this is how they have it) with a fried egg option. It's so nice not to have to explain this to the wait staff. And many Thai restaurants don't even offer it. And yes, I went with Thai Hot as well. The whole shebang. It was a bit drier than usual - I typically like it that way, though this time a little more sauce could have helped. It wasn't really Thai Hot, more like normal hot. The fried egg was flash fried crispy, just the way I like it. I think the primary issue on this visit was the basil wasn't as flavorful as it needed to be. Not sure it was just a bit older, or that the Springs has trouble obtaining fresh basil. That probably will change visit to visit. Which we intend to do....

If we could make a request, we'd like to see Aroi Thai get a liquor license. Being the alcoholics we are, we associate Thai food with white wine. Having dinner with a glass of water just isn't that much fun. Sure it will add $20 to the bill, but it's worth it. Perhaps the RJG should become lobbyists and push for BYOB (about the only thing we miss from Texas...)

11/16/19; 4/10/21 (new entry); 2/3/23

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