America's most outstanding restaurant is revealed - and it's located in one of the country's most notorious cities

A restaurant in Oregon, a city overrun with homeless encampments, has was named the country's most outstanding restaurant.

Langbaan, one of the first restaurants to serve a Thai tasting menu in America, was honored at the James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony Monday in Chicago's Lyric Opera building.

Portland has struggled with crime and vagrancy in recent years, and has become more well known for their out-of-control homeless and drug crisis rather than their vibrant culinary scene, so the nomination came as a shock to those who thought the establishment would be located in a more well-to-do area.

To win the foundation's Outstanding Restaurant award, a business must consistently deliver exceptional food, create a welcoming atmosphere, provide top-notch hospitality, and contribute meaningfully to the community, according to the foundation.

'This 24-seat restaurant, which channels sort of a Bangkok night market vibe, has been instrumental to introducing Portland to authentic addictive flavors of Thai cooking,' the awards show commentator said. 'Whether it's the bright salads, mouth-numbing larb, complex curries...Langbaan is the most fun you can have in Portland on a night out.'

During his acceptance speech, Langbaan owner Akkapong Ninsom, who locals know as Earl, said he was surprised and honored to have even been nominated, let alone win an award for an establishment he conceptualized a decade ago. 

His goal all along was to prove that 'Thai food had much, much more than what Americans had seen,' he said.

The Northwest Portland restaurant changes its menu every two months, rotating between the different regions of Thailand.

'I'm truly hoping that this award doesn't change who we are, to not stop innovating, not settle on just being mediocre, and continue to take care of our guests, and our communities,' he said.

Nimson co-owns several other Thai restaurants in the Portland area, including PaaDee, Hat Yai, Eem, Phuket Cafe and Yaowarat.

He was previously a finalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category in 2022 and in 2019, his restaurant Eem that uniquely combines Thai flavors with Texas-style smoked meats, was a finalist for the foundation’s prestigious Best New Restaurant award.

Langbaan, located at 1818 North West 23rd Place, is celebrating its 10th anniversary.  Each tasting menu has a flat rate of $125. Reservations are released in one-month blocks.

Over the last few years, Portland has been grappling with a devastating homelessness epidemic, with thousands of people living on the streets, often in make-shift campsites.

Portland has already allocated $27million for three official homeless shelters in a bid to tackle the problem, but drug addicts are reluctant to go clean and move in

When DailyMail.com visited the city back in August, little progress had been made in ending heartbreaking scenes of public drug abuse and destitution.

Prior to 2020, Portland's population had been steadily growing for 15 years. But that year, voters elected to decriminalize possession of hard drugs, including fentanyl, as city sidewalks continue to play host to homeless encampments.

Portland's homeless population jumped 65 per cent from 1,887 to 6,297 between 2015 and 2023, some 5,398 of whom are unsheltered.

Multnomah County plans to create enough shelters for about 2,700 people by the end of next year.