Restaurants in Laurel

Sean Thongsiri learned to cook alongside his mother and grandmother in Vientiane, Laos, but it was a lot of trial and error. Getting the best food for his dishes was easy, though. He frequented the town's market, where he culled relationships with local farmers and fisherman to ensure the best possible product. This is a practice he still clings to as head chef of Ele Fine Fusion restaurant, where his modern fusion style is alive in the food, as well as the decor. There, in the glow of handsome blond sconces and colorful landscape prints, guests sit on banquettes and enjoy sushi rolls, crispy duck, and steaming curry dishes, many fashioned with fresh organic vegetables.

Up the steps of the1930s-era home, a wide, wraparound porch gives diners the impression they are entering a rural townhouse. And that’s the feeling Donna Rodriguez and executive chef Marc Walden want to evoke—that of a little house, which they can fill with startlingly large flavors. Chef Walden vows to use only fresh, locally sourced ingredients to craft the eatery’s southern-style dishes, which blossom beneath modern twists, including apricot compote and okra chips. As chefs introduce new york strip, filet mignon, and blackened delta catfish to flame, the contented crackle of the hot grill drifts from the kitchen. Patrons marinating to weekly live jazz music in the dining room request a savory bacon cheesecake to go, or search for Waldo in the pastel whorls of the bistro’s vibrant impressionist paintings.

Originally opened as the Top Hat Drive-In in 1953, Sonic has grown into a burger-franchise mecca that today operates out of 3,500 locations across the country, making it the nation’s largest chain of drive-in restaurants. Sonic specializes in made-to-order American classics—including burgers, hot dogs, milk shakes, and marshmallow Ford Thunderbolts—which customers order and receive without ever having to leave their cars. Unique menu items include toaster sandwiches stacked on thick slices of texas toast, as well as the brand’s signature tots and fresh limeades.

Sonic’s numerous awards include a 2011 Zagat survey ranking it among the top five fast-food restaurants in three categories: Best Value Menu, Best Milk Shake, and Best Drive-Thru. The benevolent eatery has also donated more than $2 million to public schools throughout the country through their program Limeades for Learning, which helps to fund educational projects and retirement plans for classroom guinea pigs.