This is a newish restaurant at the Commercial Center on E. Sahara. We generally don’t pay much attention to these eateries, since they don’t seem to last too long (except for Lotus of Siam and that has yet reopened more than seven years after the roof collapsed in 2017). What caught our attention was the Manhattan clam chowder on the PK menu, which we rarely see in Las Vegas. A quick search turned up two mentions in LVA, one from way back in 2003, the other not much more recently in 2005.
We first tried the house salad ($8) and steamed clams ($20); the clams came in a choice of white broth or red sauce. We’d never seen clams served in a red sauce, so we opted for the novel preparation. The strong sauce definitely overpowered the delicate clams (but more on that in a bit).
We prefer the red chowder over the white, though being the Advisor, we also tried the white for comparison purposes ($12 each). They both come in a bread bowl with the top cut off and the middle emptied out. You can also get them in a regular bowl, which we should have; both chowders were gloppy enough without the added dough. And frankly, neither was recommendable. More like stews than soups, they were bland and very thick, with way more (undercooked) celery than clams.
Also on the menu are fried shrimp, calamari, oysters, and catfish ($15-$20), five pan roasts ($25-$32), five gumbos ($23-$32), a few po’ boys ($15-$18), and specialties such as jambalaya, etouffée, bouillabaisse, and two pounds of “Voodoo pasta” ($19-$32).
All in all, the salad was the best thing about the meal, with the red sauce that the clams came in a close runner up. Even though it didn’t do the clams any justice, we scarfed the sauce on its own, slopping it up with some of the bread from the bowls, so we didn’t leave hungry. A good thing, since the bill for the salad, clams, two chowders, and a $5 happy hour beer came to just under $62 with tax.
Maybe the best thing about PK’s is the $1.50 oyster special on Wednesdays.
No complaints on this deal. All in all, though, there are better oyster bars around town.
We were the only customers on a Tuesday evening this past November and, though he was not working in the kitchen, we got to meet head chef/owner Ramon who previously was employed for 15 years at Palace Station’s oyster bar. There are a number of unadvertised weekly specials available and on this night it was buy 1, get 1/2 off a second seafood pan roast so we said why not? We noted a distinct difference in the flavor from those previously enjoyed at Palace Station, but theirs was pretty good as was the service provided by Gregory. Did I mention there was no waiting in line? We will not let its seedy location in the Commercial Center deter us from revisiting this restaurant in the future.
Note: other unadvertised weekly specials include a happy hour 4-6PM on Friday & Saturdays that includes drinks and seafood apps, $1.50 oysters on Wednesdays and $20 etouffee on Thursdays. 3 Forks out of a possible 5.
Never heard of clams in a red sauce? Never had Cioppino? Granted it usually has more than just clams or mussels but they are in there.