Lotus of Siam: Las Vegas, Nevada
The late culinary bible Gourmet magazine put this off-strip treasure on the map more than a decade ago when it named Lotus of Siam the best Thai restaurant in America. Since then, chef-owner Saipin Chutima, who runs the restaurant with her husband and daughters, became the first Asian-born chef to win a James Beard Award for cooking the cuisine from her roots: Chiang Mai–style family recipes passed down from multiple generations. Diners wait hours for a table, vying for a taste of Chutima’s nam kao tod(a salad of crispy rice, fried peanuts, and sour sausage), nam prik nuhm (roasted green-chile dip), and catfish larb. Riesling pairs brilliantly with spicy food, which here is rated by degrees of hotness, and there’s an extensive list of German white wines to complement the 150-plus dishes—not to mention the steal-of-the-century $9.99 buffet lunch.