This isn’t your typical Thai restaurant: it’s tiny (just 24 seats), you order at the counter, plates are disposable, and—most important—the food outshines the competition’s. We loved the kitchen’s deft hand with complex broths and sauces, vibrant dressings, and herbs and chiles. And the owners (alums of Tei-An—have made the most of their humble space across from the Dallas Farmers Market. Blond woods, colorful Thai-plaid pillows, and a chalkboard-art mural create a cheerful, modern look. Steamed dumplings with a tasty dipping sauce made a generous starter, the tender yet sturdy wrappers enrobing balls of savory ground pork and shrimp studded with crunchy bits of water chestnut. Green curry chicken with wedges of tiny globe eggplant and bamboo shoots was a flavor bomb of spice and chile heat, barely tamed with coconut milk, laced with Thai basil. Another flavor-balancing act made a memorable tom yum goong: a spicy-sour lemongrass- and herb-kissed broth with plump shrimp and oyster mushrooms. Fans of sweet-sauced pad thai won’t find it here.