Stick E Rice

So close to home and much better than any Thai food I’ve had on the East side. Gotta go with 4 stars for Stick E Rice.
They are located in a shopping mall off of Desert Inn. You’ll see them next to a Mexican grocery store and a UPS shipping store. I’ve driven past them countless times, but never really gave much of a thought to going until yesterday when I was dropping off stuff to ship at the UPS. The lunch specials caught my eye — $ 6.95! Now that’s what I’m talking about.
The dining area is super nice looking, almost *fancy*. Believe me, you will be surprised to walk in here from the outside. There was nice music playing overhead and I was greeted quickly by the two women at the back counter. Although I was interested in their lunch specials, they did not really have what I wanted so I ordered from the normal menu instead (to go).
Panang Curry with Chicken (heat level 4 out of 5) — Pretty good, but the chicken had a bit of an odd texture to me when I got it home and began eating it. The spice was right on par. I definitely got a little sniffy while eating it. I wish there had been a few more vegetables/​peppers. Came with a very small container of rice (I usually get more rice at other places, even when I order to go).
Thai Iced Tea — Pretty much Thai iced tea. Although they very nicely put a sleeve around it with a handle so I could carry it out to my car with no problem.
Final thoughts — I’ll be back when I’m in the mood for Thai and I don’t want to trek across the valley. This is very close to home for me and they are definitely THE cleanest looking Thai establishment I have been in on the East Side. I would also love to dine in to enjoy the ambiance of the dining area.
So, if you’re in the mood for Thai on the East Side, head to Stick E Rice.

Was looking for some quality take out around Sam’s Town and after scouring Unilocal for my standard three hours before deciding on a place (or re-​re-​re-​re-​deciding over and over in my case). Cheesy name for a restaurant, but the food here was very good surprisingly.
Couldn’t decide between the Num Tok salad or the duck curry, so said what the hell and got both (ended up giving leftovers to my buddy, so it worked out alright… nothing went to waste). I just hate ordering only one item or spending less than $ 10, so I always order more. When she asked me how spicy I wanted the dishes, I told her 11 out of 10 and damn, they came out spicy even for me!
The Num Tok was absurdly difficult to eat after awhile, because the spices were just too much. Had to wipe off the seeds and even then, it was still an arduous task! My buddy said it was delicious though and wasn’t too spicy for him (No shit, I wiped all the seeds off for him lol). The portion of duck curry was massive and although they didn’t have as much duck in their dish as I had in my duck entrée from Wendy’s Noodle Café, it was still a sufficient amount and the curry had a great, not overly thick or thin consistency to it. Very well done indeed.
If I had a fridge in the room and didn’t have to pawn off the leftovers, the $ 20-​$ 25 I spent on takeout would’ve lasted at least two meals, if not, three. That’s how filling it was.
Don’t judge a book by its cover or name! This place is great!

Visited Vegas from L.A. and searched for a good Thai restaurant with sweet sticky rice — most places back home don’t serve it when mango is out of season. Not a problem at Stick E Rice… They have a wide variety of sweet sticky rice desserts.
Terrific Thai tea (tastes of ginger), great curries, a beautiful ambiance (modern) in a generic strip mall… and they wisely ask you to name your spice level… I chose 4 and had some serious spice moments, but it really enhanced the flavor and made me appreciate the Thai tea.
It’s not on the strip, but it’s a great spot if you’re looking for Thai, and not pricey by Vegas standards. Also, they don’t have a liquor license… so don’t expect beers! Enjoy!

I originally planned to check out another Thai place further down on Desert Inn but ended up here instead.
Stick E Rice is located in a strip mall so there’s plenty of parking. They have menus outside the door so you can check out their offerings without even stepping in. But once you step inside you’ll find a contemporary designed place with the obligatory picture of the Thai King on the wall. It has a relatively nice ambiance to it.
Service was prompt, and my egg flower soup appetizer arrived fast. I snapped a picture of it as I was impressed by how they presented it. And it tasted as good as it looked. Their Thai Iced Tea was pretty much the same as what I’ve found from here to LA. It was good enough though that I finished it.
To give them a fair comparison I ordered Mint Chicken or Chili Mint Chicken and to be honest I wasn’t all that impressed. The rice had a little bit more flavor to it, but Komol’s offering is just a little bit better, and a bit more spicy. I asked for medium heat and was not impressed with the heat in the dish.
Overall while I like this place it’s not a good value for the money. I can spend almost $ 1.50 less at Komol for the total bill and get an egg roll and ginger salad that Stick E Rice doesn’t offer.
Overall as I’ve had a lot of Komol lately, Stick E Rice was a nice break, but it was more expensive for what I ordered and I got less. I’ll file them away as a lunch choice and to make a second visit but I don’t see them making it onto my regular lunch rotation.

The story begins…
Me and my hunny had passed this place several times. And not sure why, but we finally decided to give it a try.
You walk in and they have mellow jazz playing, very nice décor, it is very clean to the eye and a friendly staff.
I placed my order to go.
Papaya Salad.
Combo Appetizer
Spicy Catfish.
StickE Wings
Pad See Ew
Beef Noodle Soup.
When I had placed my order there were only two parties dining at the time. Shortly after I walked in another gentleman walked in to place an order to go as well, and two more parties.
I waited and waited. Everyone else who came in after me received their order before me. I only remained patient because I the patrons were saying how good their food was. So all in all, I waited close to 45 minutes for my food which should not have taken that long.
Papaya Salad — one of the worse that I have had in Las Vegas. No Flavor at all. Papaya didnt taste fresh, like it had been shredded for days and just sitting there waiting to be made. Maybe they used an old papaya, I dont know.
Combo Appetizer — disappointing for a lack of better words. Filling in the eggrols was mushy and wet. Crab rangoons had no crab in it at all, not even imitation crabmeat — just creamcheese filling. So why call it crab rangoon and not a fried wonton??? Pot stickers were limp and skimpy on filling. It’s like the dough was jumping off of the meat trying to escape. and the fried wontons were basically that, fried wonton skins. Pretty disappointing for $ 10.
Spicy Catfish — Was actually okay, but overpowered by bell pepper and not so much catfish.
StickEWings — I was actually really anxious to try these, they made it sound soooo goood. Bland and flavorless. Please pass on these.
Pad See Ew — this was actually the best thing we had ordered. Noodles were pretty tasty.
Beef Noodle Soup — the flavoring in the broth was off. The beef in it was hard and chewy. It was also very oily.
I am amazed that this place has such a good rating overall. I just don’t get it. Their décor is nice, the staff friendly but the food was soooo disappointing.
We will not be going back.

Wow… I’m forcing myself to Unilocal about this place during my trip to Vegas last week. We came with 9 of my friends all from Southern CA where there’s an abundance of GREAT Thai restaurants in OC and LA. We checked the site out at the hotel and the pix and reviews convinced us to try it out. Let me start my review to get this over with. This is what we ordered:
APPETIZER:
01. 2-​Fried Tofu served with Sweet Sauce ($ 4.95) — 3 Stars
— This was probably the better dish of them all.
02. 2-​Fish Cake ($ 7.95) — 2 Stars
Fried Fish Cake served w/​Sweet Chili Cucumber Salad, Crushed Peanuts
— We couldn’t taste anything but SALT SALT and more SALT. This was the point of the dinner we got pitchers and pitchers of H2O to relieve our OVERDOSE OF MSG. We were thirsty the entire night after leaving the restaurant. Some of my friends had headaches from the MSG.
03. Fried Calamari ($ 7.95) — 2 Stars
Deep Fried Calamari served w/​spicy dipping sauce
— The batter on the Calamari was not crispy, yet more oily. The calamari itself was super chewy. Needless to say, the dish remained on the plate. I gave it 2 Stars for the presentation but not for flavor/​taste.
SOUP:
04. Tom Kha — flavor of Tom Yum but w/​Coconut Milk ($ 8.95) — 2 Stars
— The Chicken in the soup was very under cooked to the point it was still slimy in texture. We couldn’t shake it out of our heads. Definitely one of the WORST one in my lifetime of eating Thai food.
05. Hot & Sour Soup ($ 7.95) — 1 Star
Chicken, Tofu, Bamboo Shoots, Carrots, Mushrooms, Eggs & Chilis
— This soup could not even be reviewed. We didn’t know what it was. In our heads we were imagining Hot & Sour Soup but got a bowl of water and veggies instead and there wasn’t any flavor that resembled the original soup.
SALADS:
06. Larb w/​Ground Pork ($ 8.95) — 2 Stars
w/​Spicy Lime Dressing, Red Onions, Green Onions, Cilantro & Romaine Lettuce
— Spices were totally OFF. This dish is usually really spicy and should have the balance of lime & spices but it lacked it so the dish was very plain. We asked for lime & chilis and made our own sauce.
07. Papaya Salad ($ 8.95) — 3 Stars
Sliced Green Papaya, Tomatos, Green Beans, Peanuts, Dried Shrimp & Spicy Lime Dressing
— This salad was good in presentation but it lacked the right amount of spices that this dish calls for. We asked for «SPICY» and still it was not even spicy at all.
CURRIES:
08. Green Curry ($ 8.95) — 3 Stars
Green Curry, Coconut Milk, Bamboo Shoots, Jalapenos & Sweet Basil Leaves
— This surprisingly was the 2^nd better dish of the evening. The color and flavor of the curry was mild and the one dish where we asked for spicy actually came out SPICY. We have a winner…
NOODLES/​RICE:
09. Pad Thai ($ 9.95) — 1 Star
Medium Rice Noodles, Chicken, Eggs, Bean Spouts & topped with Peanuts
— The color of this dish was so light it didn’t look like Pad Thai at all. The dish also lacked the traditional flavors, it tasted more like soggy rice noodles dipped in a sauce with steamed veggies. Definitely an eye sore and dissapointment to any taste buds.
10. White Steam Rice ($ 1.00) — 5 Stars
This was the only item on the menu that we ordered that had the flavor and texture right. Some would say, «You can’t mess up steam rice!» but trust me… some can!!! Best dish of the night!
SERVICE ($ FREE) — 5 Stars
I will have to say they were very friendly and fast to serve. They kept asking us where we were from and really tried to accommodate us with anything we asked for. Good Service.
DECOR — 5 Stars
The inside of the restaurant was nice and modern. The Space was comfortable and clean. The restaurant sign is a tad bit on the DARK side so you might just drive right by and miss it.
NOTE TO THE WISE — DON’T DO IT… GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. Unless you just want to support their business… you’ll love the service!

Want in to give it a try, didn’t hate it, but I’ve had better. I had beef pad thai and it was great. My boyfriend on the other hand, he had the seafood soup, as usual, when they brought it out, it seemed good, but had a really strong bay leaf smell, and when he went in for the scoop he saw there wasn’t any shrimp, and the portion was smaller than others we’ve had. Other than that service was great and the restaurant had a nice ambiance.