LAS VEGAS— Long before COVID-19 shut everything down, Lotus of Siam co-owner Penny Chutima ordered bulk supplies of masks and gloves.
It was January. Coronavirus news was still overseas. Friends thought she was crazy.
“Like one of those conspiracy theorist people,” she said. “They were like, ‘No. Not in America. Nobody in the states will ever shut down.’ So when March came around the corner — boom.”
Lotus of Siam is a legendary Thai restaurant known for its vast menu of north country specialties. What does that mean? This is not a place to get pad thai.
This is the place you visit for a Thai meal you’ve never heard of. Noted dishes include the sa-tay, prawns (in any style they serve), stuffed chicken wings and Thai jerky.
Jonathan Gold, the late Pulitzer Prize-winning LA Times food writer, called Lotus of Siam the best Thai restaurant in the country. “It was the best…
