Lilly's Thai and Vietnamese Restaurant
Last night a few friends and I went to Super Summer Theatre's production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It's an outdoor theatre set within Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. Tickets are a reasonable price and all you have to do is bring yourself, a blanket to sit on and maybe some food and beverage to enhance your experience that much more.
Being the classy people that my we are, my friends and I grabbed a 12 pack of Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, picked up a pizza from CostCo and headed out to the ranch for an evening of fun. Though I don't drink much at all, I began to have the biggest craving for Thai food as the night drew on. It was sudden and out of place, but then again my partner and I have been getting our fair share of Thai food as of late. My latest addiction: Pad See Ew.
Being that I live on the west side of Las Vegas I decided that I need to start trying new places in my area. Just across from my favorite falafel house in Las Vegas I have noticed a few restaurants come and go, but nothing really stays. Could it be bad location or just bad food? I don't know, but what I did notice on my way past the area this morning is that there was a Thai restaurant that I have never been to. And where there is a Thai café, there is Pad See Ew.
I decided to stop in at Lilly's Thai and Vietnamese Restaurant on West Sahara to give it a go. My first impressions where mostly faded by the fact that I just wanted this noodle dish...NOW! I placed my order for beef Pad See Ew (there is a $1 up charge for beef) and sat down to wait for my dish. As I had a few things to get done this morning, I ordered it to go but the wait staff still poured me a glass of water as I waited which was quite unexpected but very welcomed.
Sitting down I began to take in my surroundings, and to be quite frank, there wasn't much to take in. The tables were very plain and each one had a large sticker on it's edge to indicate the table number. The front desk was made up of what looked like an ill fitted computer desk set to the side of another desk that could have easily been left behind by the previous tenants of this rental space. The decorations were few, but I just kept reminding myself that I am here for the food and not the atmosphere. Besides, I was taking my food to go. What did I care?
My order only took about 5 minutes to make and when it was ready the host bagged it up, walked it over to me and politely thanked me and invited me back. For me, the drive home is usually the worst part about take out as the smell of the food taunts me until I have reached my destination. However, in this instance I got nothing. It wasn't until I opened the bag fully and opened the To-Go box that I got a whiff of what was to come, and what I got was a short scent of the dish and then...nothing. I enjoy food that lingers in the air and taunts everyone around that's eating something else to the point of jealousy and begging for a bite.
Upon further inspection of the opened box I noticed the beef. It had been cooked to an eerie gray to it that made it seem like low quality factory meat that was cut into a uniform thickness. Looking past that I was excited to see a spring roll that came with this lunch special as it meant that I would enjoy at least one thing. How can you mess up a spring roll, am I right?
I began to plate my lunch, but was quickly losing my appetite (it's hot here and I don't have a big appetite during the hot Vegas summer's to begin with). I took my first apprehensive bite and was underwhelmed. There was so much anticipation that was leading up to this moment that perhaps I was the reason that it wasn't appealing to me. I took another bite and again wasn't excited, but the food was forgettable. After my fifth bite I decided to just take the spring roll and enjoy the little bit that I could.
After my meal I looked up Lilly's on Yelp to see if it was just me, but they have gotten some mixed reviews. The photos make the food look amazing, but good photos don't make up for a lack of flavor which seems to be a common complaint. Though I didn't get a Thai tea or dessert like I would have wanted to give this place an overall review, I can't say that I will never be back.
Overall, this dish was not good. It had little to no flavor, the protein was gray, but the egg roll and dipping sauce were not half bad. The desserts look delicious and the wait staff is very attentive, but as far as this dish goes there are far too many other Thai restaurants around Las Vegas that make a better Pad See Ew to go to. I will probably come back to get the curry, Thai tea and coconut ice cream as recommended by others on Yelp.
Thanks for checking out my first review and be sure to come back as I make this dish at home later this week.
Until next time....
Happy Snacking!
Luke
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