Arun's, Chicago

Even in his early days of crafting culinary masterpieces, Chef Arun Sampanthavivat spoke as if his life was a perpetual swan song. In 1998, the New York Times began its article "The Great Chefs Go to Him To Be Dazzled" with the words, "To hear him talk, you might think he's a man with regrets." Later on, Sampanthavivat described his numerous four-star reviews as a blessing and a curse . . . "I have to live up to every word they say." Wolfgang Puck added another potentially bad omen by calling Arun's "probably the best Thai restaurant in the country." Cursed or not, it still earns acclaim nearly 15 years later, most recently from Chicago magazine, which characterizes the eponymous eatery as "a treasure" whose "tiniest elements amaze." At his Albany Park mainstay, Chef Arun builds elegant arabesques, filling his tasting menus with spiced pork lar atop grilled sweet pepper, and sea scallops drizzled in kabocha chili sauce. This attention to detail and workmanlike approach extends to the dining room, which is decorated with Thai artwork curated by Arun himself. Even the website's gentle piano music was composed by the tireless chef, further showing that, in the culinary world, he's the closest thing we have to a genuine auteur.