text: If you are looking for an unassuming ethnic restaurant located in a strip mall in not the best part of town that serves authentic highquality food from a James Beard awardwinning chef at reasonable prices well many people would tell you that you are insane and such a place cannot possibly exist But such a place does exist my friends It is called Lotus of Siam known to many as the best Thai restaurant in America for over a decade and home to the culinary masterpieces of multipletime nominee and James Beard awardwinning chef Saipin Chutima nnI first went to Lotus on my first trip to Vegas in after hearing continuous raves from my close friend and Yelper Jay F They were already starting to get a buzz then with one magazine proclaiming them the best Thai restaurant in America and it is been great to see how the buzz has grown to Beard Awards and feature episodes on Top Chef Masters A couple of weeks back was my first trip there in about four years and it was nice to see that the restaurant has been expanded and renovated inside to better reflect it is reputation and quality cuisine nnMy friend and I arrived at close to PM on a Monday night They close at but true to Lotus form they were PACKED and more were flocking in We took a seat at the nice bar new since I last visited and was pleased to see a small but thoughtful selection of bottled beer many people were enjoying Stone IPA and a selection of sake Wine is the thing to come here for they have an impressive selection and showcase their wine storage room prominently but I am just not a wine person Shortly after ordering and receiving my hot sake we were called for our table nnWe started with apps the Issan Style Beef Jerky a and Nam Ko Tod which is essentially a crispy rice salad served with minced sour pork sausage and unlike anything I have ever had Amazing As always we ordered both a spicy but felt these were a little lower maybe a in Lotus Spice which is equal to the at most other places nnFor my entree I decided to bypass the go to dishes I had tried in the past and went with a traditional Massaman curry And that is the great thing about Lotus they have a huge menu with some truly creative and unique offerings that will blow you away But for the less adventurous they offer the same traditional Thai dishes that you can get at any neighborhood Thai restaurant and at the same price The difference is that it is prepared by a highly decorated chef and it will be the best version of the traditional Thai dish you have ever had I will put my neighborhood Thai restaurant in Manassas up against any Thai restaurant in America except Lotus This was hands down the best Massaman curry I have ever had And this time the spicy was indeed a several pitchers of water were needed And you certainly are reminded the day after that you indeed did order the nnIf there is any issue with Lotus it is that the service can be a little bit hit or miss There was some confusion with the server and my friend was served the wrong entree However after pointing this out our server went back to the kitchen and produced the proper entree in minutes and it was spot on They make mistakes but they handle them properly and professionally nnLotus is not just the best Thai in Vegas it is the best Thai in America the best restaurant in Vegas and one of the best restaurants in America All at prices that are no more expensive than your typical Thai restaurant Any foodie that is been to Vegas and has not been to Lotus cannot call themselves a foodie or say they have really been to Vegas It is THAT good