For Alicia Soutthivong, eating is about far more than just staying fed. To her, food is about bringing people together—whether those people are members of the same family, the same neighborhood, or even just the same planet. As owner of The Bangkok Restaurant, Alicia oversees the creation of dozens of vibrant Thai dishes, and she does it in a way that's constantly building connections. When a blizzard cloaked the town in two feet of snow and three feet of holiday sweaters, Alicia kept the doors open and the stovetops fired up—a decision so unusually ambitious, NBC News contacted her for an interview. Alicia is also passionate about philanthropy, and she's used her profits to help build a temple and a school in Laos.

But sometimes, Alicia's food connects people divided not by oceans or blizzards of mythic proportion, but simply by busy schedules. When families and friends sit down and converse over shrimp noodle soup, spiced chicken, or scallops with vegetables, they find themselves brought together by a warm atmosphere and great food.