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It's been a long time since I ate at Lotus, but it was good. If I remember right it was in the center of Commercial Center at one time. That's how long it's been. Not a great location. Safety in Commercial Center is an issue, though I don't hear in the news about crimes there. A lot of reviewers have named it Best in the U.S. though.
My wife ate at Archi's the other day and came home raving about it.
Our family's favorite Thai food has been Pin Kaow (pink cow?) for many years; although there is one that is more upscale near us that we always seem to "disremember". You might not hear a lot about it, but they have really good food, although not necessarily a Pad Thai (bad pie) joint. It's Nittaya's Secret Kitchen at W. Lake Mead and Rampart. nittaya's secret kitchen
There are so many Thai restaurants in Las Vegas I'd think picking the best would be like picking the best pizza joint. It's a matter of taste. In fact there are so many it makes you wonder if anyone is left in Thailand.
My wife took a class and learned to make Pad Thai. The presentation isn't the greatest, but the taste if really good. Yesterday she bought a Thai Basil plant to grow her own because it's hard to find in the Asian markets.
If the local newscasts can be trusted (I've not been here long enough to know) then Nevada schools rank 49th in the country. That was reported either last night or the night before.
That is true but misleading. It deals with the fact that Nevada is very urban and consists of one very large and one medium sized school district and not much else. All large urban school districts are relatively weak performers. By at least one measure NV is the third most urban state in the US behind CA and NY. The metric dealt with the percentage of the population living above some target density.
If you compare CCSD to other large school district it does reasonably well...particularly considering the low funding. It does better than NY and LA for instance.
There are also performance studies that normalize the national testing and show NV in the middle of the pack.
The real question is how good is the top 25% of the CCSD schools? I certainly would not claim they are exceptional...ie head to head with the selective admission schools of Dallas or the Boston area. But are they competitive with the suburban schools of LA and Phoenix? I think so...
I'm not going to participate in another school thread. But that's some powerful backpedaling going on "not claiming they are exceptional." That's the closest you've come to reality this year.
Getting back to Thai food -- it's just like everything else. 90% of it is crap. (Google Sturgeon's Law.) The reason 90% of it is crap is because people will buy crap. American Thai restaurants are a smidge closer to what someone could actually find in the kingdom than American Chinese restaurants compared to their Chinese counterparts. But for the most part, compromise and a desire for more profit wins out over authenticity.
So we have one -- ONE -- restaurant that displays a no-compromise, it-gets-done-the-right-way-with-the-right-ingredients philosophy. And even they don't do that for all their dishes. Just the Northern Thai dishes. And so far in this thread, I haven't read anything which leads me to believe the "what's the big deal about Lotus" crowd has even tried the Northern Thai dishes. I'd love to be a fly on the wall while such people read the menu. "Jackfruit? WTF is a Jackfruit? Nam-Prik-Ong? What is THAT? Raw shrimp? Can I get my raw shrimp cooked?"
You are obviously superior to us all, nothing that can be said will convince you otherwise.
I have had jackfruit (in my own home, even) I have had a very wide variety of Thai food, probably dishes you have not had. I found Lotus of Siam to be good, just not the be all, end all of Thai. YMMV.
Doesn't make me better, just makes my opinion different than others.
When it comes to food, it is subjective, like it or not. If it weren't, then why bother even having a variety of different restaurants to choose from?
I encourage the OP and anyone to try it and judge for themselves. If they love it, great! If they don't, great! I hope they return and share their opinion and feel they won't be judged for it.
__________________
My posts as moderator will be in red.
Jet Tila, the famed Thai chef says it's the best -- by far -- in Las Vegas. A host of food magazines says it's one of the best Thai restaurants in the country.
THEY HAVE A MICHELIN RECOMMENDATION AND A BEARD AWARD. There's no way the auvergnats at Michelin are going to award even a single star to a restaurant in a strip mall, kitty corner from an orgy palace. But they gave the place a recommendation. That's huge. Michelin is the only food guide that matters, and THEY think it's the best in town. As for the Beard Awards, that's the best America has to offer. We don't have Michelin in our backyard, so only a handful of cities are reviewed regularly.
Would you care to count all the rest of the Thai places in Las Vegas that have that kind of cred? Here's a hint, you don't need ANY fingers to do so. Lotus is in a class of its own.
I can link story after story from respected food writers saying that it's not just the best in Las Vegas, not just the best in America, it's one of the best Thai restaurants IN THE WORLD. Think about that. There are born-and-bred Thai chefs who think Saipin Chutima has the best Thai food on Earth, and it happens to be in Las Vegas.
So let's hear your bona-fides to give some credibility as to why your opinion carries so much more weight.
With the exception of the Northern Thai menu at Lotus, Las Vegas Thai restaurants are Americanized "pad-thai-and-tom-yum" joints. Sort of like American Chinese restaurants. Steamed rice is the only thing you'll find on the menu that you'll also find in China.
Not that this stuff is bad, of course. Just that it isn't really Chinese or Thai.
Well of course it is Americanized, these restaurants are serving food catering to the American palate in the United States. You reside in the United States not Thailand and even in Thailand, the country has regional dishes. Different taste for different regions, same in the Philippines or any country in the world.
I don't think anybody is doubting the fact it's rated the best on multiple food websites and has multiple awards and national recognition. They're just offering their personal experience and opinion which is also valid.
I confess we did go try Lotus Siam after reading this thread. There was a long line waiting out the door to get inside and once inside it was big and packed and stayed busy. People kept lining up after us. Taxis were coming and going like a well oiled machine. By the time we got to the door to go inside the line was still as long as when we arrived behind us. The line also moved quickly while we were in it so we weren't waiting too long. They seemed well staffed and the service was good at what they do.
The place is nice inside and the atmosphere was lively. There were some large groups up to 20 people sitting together.
I wish I'd seen the post about selecting from the Northern Thai menu before going. I saw the Northern Thai area but didn't know to order from it and I'm not sure I did. I'm embarrassed to say we're Tom Yum and Pad Thai people with an occasional Pad Prik Pong or Drunken Noodle. Pad Thai is how I usually judge if a Thai place is good or not unless I'm at a Thai BBQ place. If you're at a BBQ place you get the BBQ to judge if it's good because it's what they do.
This time I tried something different and selected the thai basil and chili dish with chicken which was very good. It was kind of like Pad Prik without saying it was Pad Prik and I saw they had a Pad Prik dish so was wondering how this was different. I also had their Tom Yum with shrimp.
My husband had the fried rice with chicken and later told me he wasn't really impressed. I was upset that's what he wanted to get because it's usually what you'd get a kid to eat. I mentioned that we're sitting in the best Thai food place in Las Vegas and to maybe expand his options and try a curry, but he gruffly told me he doesn't see food the same way I do and to get over it. He really dislikes going out to eat and would prefer I cook and serve everything to him in the comfort of his home.
Overall I wish I had ordered more dishes to try and take home and I realized you really need to go there with a large group of people to order a bunch of different items so everyone could try each others plates and get a taste of different things. Oh, and you have to go with people who like food and everything about food. Not my husband obviously. If they still had the buffet that someone mentioned I think that would be well worth it. It was a pleasant experience and now I want to try the Northern Menu but I'm not sure when we'll be back for certain.
I also tried that little Le Thai place downtown when we went to check out Container Park one evening and we both thought that place was pretty good. It's a smaller intimate atmosphere a block from all the entertainment as opposed to being in a shady shopping center like where Lotus Siam is. For a shady shopping center it sure has some good places to eat.
Well of course it is Americanized, these restaurants are serving food catering to the American palate in the United States. You reside in the United States not Thailand and even in Thailand, the country has regional dishes. Different taste for different regions, same in the Philippines or any country in the world.
And that is precisely why the food world loves Lotus so much -- Lotus doesn't give an excrement about the American palate. The American palate can go [censor] itself. It doesn't know excrement from Shinola about food.
The American palate is the reason why Taco Bell is the most popular "Mexican" restaurant in America and why Olive Garden wins the Best of Las Vegas reader's choice award for Italian year after year.
I'm glad I don't have it because I love Mexican and Tex-Mex foods that use it.
That's very interesting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElleTea
I have had jackfruit (in my own home, even) I have had a very wide variety of Thai food, probably dishes you have not had. I found Lotus of Siam to be good, just not the be all, end all of Thai. YMMV.
Doesn't make me better, just makes my opinion different than others.
When it comes to food, it is subjective, like it or not. If it weren't, then why bother even having a variety of different restaurants to choose from?
I encourage the OP and anyone to try it and judge for themselves. If they love it, great! If they don't, great! I hope they return and share their opinion and feel they won't be judged for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoopLV
Dear lord... get over yourself.
What is wrong with you?
Quote:
Jet Tila, the famed Thai chef says it's the best -- by far -- in Las Vegas. A host of food magazines says it's one of the best Thai restaurants in the country.
THEY HAVE A MICHELIN RECOMMENDATION AND A BEARD AWARD. There's no way the auvergnats at Michelin are going to award even a single star to a restaurant in a strip mall, kitty corner from an orgy palace. But they gave the place a recommendation. That's huge. Michelin is the only food guide that matters, and THEY think it's the best in town. As for the Beard Awards, that's the best America has to offer. We don't have Michelin in our backyard, so only a handful of cities are reviewed regularly.
Would you care to count all the rest of the Thai places in Las Vegas that have that kind of cred? Here's a hint, you don't need ANY fingers to do so. Lotus is in a class of its own.
I can link story after story from respected food writers saying that it's not just the best in Las Vegas, not just the best in America, it's one of the best Thai restaurants IN THE WORLD. Think about that. There are born-and-bred Thai chefs who think Saipin Chutima has the best Thai food on Earth, and it happens to be in Las Vegas.
So let's hear your bona-fides to give some credibility as to why your opinion carries so much more weight.
I love it when you post. No matter what it is, if someone doesn't agree with you about anything you use sarcasm over and over again to deride them.
Like art, food preferences are subjective. Lotus of Siam is a fine. It's in a crappy area and has terrible ambiance. The decor is tacky and the tables and chairs are squished together. The service...meh. That was a huge turn off for me.
They do a booming business, so there are people that like it. No group of food snobs is going to tell me what I'm supposed to like. There are so many great options in Vegas that you can have a great meal out anywhere.
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