Dallas’ Khao Noodle Shop was named one of the best new restaurants in America on Tuesday.
The Laotian restaurant, located in Old East Dallas, was No. 2 on the list of Bon Appetit’s America’s Best New Restaurants 2019. Its owner and chef is Donny Sirisavath.
“We're overwhelmed, filled with emotions - we're happy, excited, thrilled and grateful for this recognition & for all of this,” the restaurant posted on Facebook. “Kop jai (thank you) to everyone for your ongoing support & love. As always, we appreciate you & #makinkhao (come eat...but not all at once).”
The magazine heaped praise on the restaurant.
"After one slurp of painstakingly handmade noodles in a savory, complex pork blood broth, the restaurant’s roots came through clearly: This is the cooking of Laos, the country the chef’s mother fled after its civil war before resettling in Texas in 1977," the magazine said in its write-up. "Now, in a strip mall in East Dallas — an area once home to many Southeast Asian refugees in the late ’70s and early ’80s — Sirisavath serves a menu inspired not by books or classes or other restaurants but by his own singular vision, rooted in family and place. This is a rare thing to find, and I felt lucky just to be there."
It's the second big honor for the Dallas dining scene in a week from the magazine. Bon Appetit named Dallas its 2019 Restaurant City of the Year last week.