Khao Noodle Shop

Dallas

“Donny Sirisavath is a huge part of why Dallas is suddenly such an exciting place to eat,” said Julia Kramer in Bon Appetit. The city that we’ve named 2019’s restaurant city of the year has recently become a hotbed of Laotian cooking, and the young Amarillo native, son of a mother who was a great chef herself, is leading the way. At his Khao Noodle Shop, in a dressed-up strip-mall space in East Dallas, he “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.” The tall stacks of empty bowls left on every table are proof that you can choose any of the $8-and-under dishes on Sirisavath’s short menu, said Amy McCarthy in Eater.com. Still, “no order here is complete without Sirisavath’s savory boat noodles, which he makes over the course of 24 hours by charring and simmering beef bones with garlic, anise, and other aromatics, before finishing the rich broth with pork blood.” 4812 Bryan St., (972) 803-3373