Rhong-Tiam fills a deep and dimly lit space in the row of businesses occupying the block of LaGuardia Place between 3rd and Bleecker Streets. By anyone's guess, the decor is a composition of remnants from the previous owner, with black and white striped built-in boat seating lining the north wall, and another dozen or so tables on an elevated platform, bordered by a white fence strung with fake ivy. A magenta scooter sits in......

When a restaurant throws down a chili-laced gauntlet with the title, “Can you take the heat?” most people expect to be crying by the end of the meal. Andy Yang, Rhong-Tiam’s executive chef, has issued just such a challenge. Yang’s three-month old West Village Thai spot is offering a special tasting menu, which gets progressively hotter, through April 15. The prize for eating every last spicy morsel is dinner for two at his upcoming East......