Pho's Thai Cuisine

Two types of people frequent this hole-in-the-wall Thai spot: locals who know to call ahead for takeout orders of garlicky papaya salad, deep-fried pot stickers and family-size portions of red curry with eggplant and Thai basil; and psychos obsessed with how spicy they can persuade the chef to make their food. The restaurant’s Scoville scale runs from “mild” to “extra hot”: “hot” just about massacred us, so if you meet any of the guys whose photos boast “extra hot x 12,” check whether they’re human.