US Thai Cafe

Head for Edgewater if you like your Thai spicy. US Thai Cafe brings the heat with force and flavor, but it's not just a gimmick. Thai chiles enhance and balance massive amounts of other spices — galangal, lemongrass, garlic, kaffir lime leaf and ginger, to name a few. Curries are thick with the pulverized pulp of said seasonings (get the brick-red massaman if you doubt us), while dressings on papaya salads and larb assert themselves with lime and fish sauce. Of course, you needn't destroy your tastebuds to get a taste of great Thai here; just order lower than usual on the sliding scale of heat. Or go all out — and then go jump in a lake. Sloan's Lake, that is.