Thai Street Food Restaurant

Utumporn Killoran had been running the Thai Street Food Cart on the 16th Street Mall for years before she finally got her own brick-and-mortar spot in 2011 -- a space in Aurora that she uses as a carry-out-only restaurant. Killoran hails from the Isaan region of Thailand, which is up north and close to the border of Laos; the food in that part of the country channels both Thai and Lao cuisine, with curries, pork larb, green-papaya salad and sticky rice prominent. But Isaan food also has one defining characteristic: enough heat to blister your esophagus. And Killoran doesn't dumb down the temperature just because she's cooking for Americans, though she does offer everything on a sliding scale that includes such steps as "baby spice" and "nice spice," all in an effort to encourage posturing first-timers to take the hint and avoid injury. For those who don't, there are boxes of Kleenex on every table.