The best Thai food in North America [View all]

[hifiguy]

Last week I was attending the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. A couple of audiobuddies of long standing invited me to dinner on Tuesday night. We went to the Lotus of Siam, in Vegas. Now this is not some elegant, fancy place. It's in a strip mall in one of the iffier parts of the city.

You walk in and first see the three James Beard awards won by the chef, Ms.
Saipin Chutima. You then see the autographed photos, not just of celebrities, but from other chefs, among them Mary Sue Milliken and Ming Tsai.

Then you eat the food, which defies any possible superlative. I have eaten in fancy, highly rated restaurants, including Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger, but I have never in my life had a better meal than at Lotus of Siam. This is not americanized Thai food, it is the real stuff - Northern Thai recipes that go back generations in Ms. Chutima's family.

If you ever are in Vegas and love Thai food, this is a destination restaurant. Be prepared to wait as the place is always packed, but the wait is more than worth it. Great wine selections, too.

http://www.saipinchutima.com/#/HOME-01-00/