A Meal at the Original Lotus of Siam

It took a year and a half (and one missed opportunity) before I got to finally try the "real" Lotus of Siam. LOS chef Saipin Chutima had briefly flirted with Manhattan last year, opening a branch on lower Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Steve went (and posted) when the chef was still in the house, but she swiftly returned to Las Vegas, leaving her newest franchise to fend for itself before pulling out entirely earlier this year. When we went at the end of December, it was a dim, half empty place. We liked our meal, but it was not worth the markup (although we did have a fantastic Reisling with our meal).

Luckily, I got a taste of the real Lotus of Siam only hours before flying back to New York City from Las Vegas (which turned into a two-legged, fourteen hour Spirit Airlines adventure). The practical effect of having to catch the flight was that we were limited to what we could fit in our stomachs (and no leftovers!).

However, obsessive research had led me to the following four absolutely necessary dishes.

Lotus of Siam: A Gamble on Manhattan

Finding great Thai food in NYC used to mean having to catch the 7 train up to Queens. That all changed when Lotus of Siam officially opened its doors to the public last week. Occupying Cru's former space on the corner of Fifth Avenue, Lotus of Siam inherited an impressive wine cellar and an equally lofty set of expectations. It was bound to happen after Jonathan Gold of Gourmet Magazine anointed Lotus of Siam's Vegas outpost as, "the single best Thai restaurant in North America." Accustomed to over-sauced, sugar-laden, dumbed down versions of Thai cuisine, it was only natural that New York was ready to embrace this legendary restaurant. Having seen Lotus of Siam's comparatively "expensive" prices and being the cynic that I am, I arrived for my pre-opening dinner reservation a bit skeptical to say the least. But after enjoying seven courses of well thought and executed food, all the cynicism in the world couldn't deny the fact that Lotus of Siam is a potential game changer and is already firmly entrenched in the discussion as the city's best Thai restaurant.

Sripraphai Thai Restaurant: Way More than Pad Thai

Often relegated to sickly-sweet Pad Thai at take out joints, I'm usually left disgusted with the selection of Thai restaurants in New York City. And with possible the exception of Mexican food, does New York do a greater disservice to any ethnic food more than Thai? Instead of delicious food that combines sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavors harmoniously, many of the Thai restaurants I've sampled offer a mere semblance of this proud and complex country. Yet, on further inspection, I've come to the conclusion that my inability to find good Thai food was the result of not knowing where to look.

Fortunately for me, one of MW's friends does know where some the best Thai food is and helped steer us in the right direction. So after work I found myself jumping on the 7 train uptown to Woodside, Queens where I met up with MW, YW, JC, MC and LC at Sripraphai Thai Restaurant. Located near the train station, Sripraphai was a full house when I met my dinner party outside. After a short wait, we were seated at one of the restaurant's larger tables. The interior has little, if any, ambiance. Instead, the restaurant's space is configured for squeezing the maximal amount of people into its walls.