Side Dish: Anny's Thai and Sushi

​There are so many Thai/Japanese restaurants around Broward and Palm Beach counties serving the same exact menu that they may as well all be photocopies. With nothing to differentiate them but their cutesy names (Too Too Thai or Bo Thai or Thai One On, etc.), there's little to draw you into one over another. Still, when I spotted Anny's Thai, a small restaurant tucked into a strip mall in Coral Springs, the boutique eatery looked like it might have some potential. The upfront sushi bar is lit smartly at night, with black stools in front of it for a front stage show. And the menu actually has some diversity -- yes, it features the ubiquitous meekrobs, pad Thais, and red curries but also plenty of Thai-inspired salads, seared wahoo dishes, and even sushi made with fruit.

Owner Anny Hongnopkhun is ever-present at the front of the restaurant, making sushi to order or chatting up her guests. Hongnopkhun previously worked at Jasmine Thai in Margate -- she's sweet, charming, and is the real draw at her 4-year-old restaurant. Unfortunately, the food I tried tasted more like it came from Cheney Brothers than an authentic Thai restaurant.

Panang curry ($16.95) had plenty of crunchy green beans and basil, but the shrimp was overcooked and the sauce bland, oily, and runny. A seared wahoo salad ($8.95) looked like a messy pile of roughly cut fish being violated by a too-liberal splaying of soggy tempura flakes. The dining room on my visits was empty too, accented by bowls of dollar store wax fruit and dusty linens. (A recent inspection proved the décor is not the only thing in disrepair.) The prices aren't helping either.

It hurts to pile on a restaurant so obviously in need of business as Anny's is, especially when the owner is so sweet. But it's clear that what Anny's needs is an overhaul if it wants to stand out from the seas of other Thai restaurants out there. 

Anny's Thai and Sushi
10288 W. Sample Road, Coral Springs 33065
954-575-7900
annysthaiandsushi.com

Price: $$ ($10-$30)
Reservations Not Required
Parking: Lot, Free
Take Out, Beer/Wine

Open for lunch and dinner 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 4:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday.