Lao Laan-Xang

The MadCity offers up many top-notch dining institutions, but the Lao Laan-Xang Restaurant (located on 1146 Williamson St. in Madison, WI) is perhaps one of the most authentic ethic cuisine destinations our great city has to offer. If “honest to good” family-style Laotian food is what you crave or if you were like me (and didn’t even know that food genre existed) and just craved a change up from familiar fare… you might just discover (as I did years ago) that you can strike “taste bud gold” at the Lao Laan-Xang Restaurant. Voted Madison’s Favorite Southeast Asian restaurant by Isthmus readers in 2008, this delightful, cozy restaurant lives up to its well earned title by slinging huge portions of Laotian delights at prices that wont break the bank.

Now for those of you who have been to this Madison gem before, you know it’s not the largest of restaurants, nor is its ambiance “the fanciest”… but let’s be honest, if you’re serving up fantastic food who really gives a flip what’s hanging on the walls? Pork or veggie eggrolls for starters are the way to go and as for the main course, well that depends on how well you can handle the heat! You can choose the heat level of most of their entrees by using their “Heat Star Index”, but all heat aside you just can’t go wrong with any of their stir-fly platters, your choice of meat or fish steamed in banana leaves and served with heaps of sticky rice, or probably what they’re best known for by locals… Squash Curry. So put some adventure into you dining out, and hit up one of Madison’s long time favorites for outstanding ethnic fare.