I love Busara.

That doesn't mean I've ever gotten away from the place clean, mind you. I've always left with a burning tongue or a chile seed trapped between my teeth or with enough leftovers to keep the Tums people in business.

But I still love the place.

I love its style and its sense of LoDo, but mainly I love its sense of what it is, a regional Thai restaurant that breaks with the Thai style I've come to know and love in Denver.

If there is spice, it can be cut ... but then again, maybe not. Instead, let's see where it take us.

On the appetizer menu are crispy tofu triangles ($5) with a peanut dipping sauce. Like a lot of other items on the Busara menu, the sauce has this nice sweet bite to it, a real back-of-the-throat bite. That, in itself, is wonderful. Then again, eating the fried tofu is a cross between gnawing on a kitchen sponge and downing a piece of cafeteria French toast, often in the very same piece. I get the feeling it's close to impossible to judge the cooking time on these little devils.

Also slightly disappointing, the steamed dumplings kanom jeeb "Kanom Jeeb" ($5) with shrimp, crabmeat and chicken. The four dumplings were served with a marvelous ginger/soy dipping sauce, a perfect blend of salty ginger bite. But the dumplings themselves were like little golf balls (Titleist, I think), thick, tough and not quite as hot as one might like.

The basic salad ($6) is to die for. It's a chilled plate filled with greens (no iceberg), onion, hard-boiled eggs, tomato wedges, carrot strings, red pepper and crispy tofu covered with a warm peanut dressing. It was simply amazing. A blend of fresh veggies and a dressing that could hardly be good for you because it was so delicious.

There's also a blanched squid and shrimp salad ($7) with a lemongrass-lime juice dressing. I will leave this to you and your adventurous tastes.

Along with the salad, you might also want to try chicken-coconut soup ($4 cup and $7 bowl) with galanga, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, lemongrass and cilantro. The chicken seemed somewhat bland, but the base was an obnoxiously rich curry without the heaviness one might expect. It's a wonderful little side trip off the main menu.

There are a lot of entrees to choose from, but I stayed fairly close to the curry section.

The spicy wild jungle curry with chicken ($10) featured chicken, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, wilted greens, and red and green peppers in a curry sauce uncut by coconut milk. It's a regional dish, mainly served among those who can't afford or find coconut milk. It's a show stopper and easily one of the spiciest meals I've ever had, one of those dishes that simply reaches out and says "don't even bother to try to stop eating, for your tastebuds now belong to me." My sinuses opened, my eyesight cleared, my glasses fogged, my nose ran and by the end of it all, I was pretty much back to where I had begun the meal.

But what a ride.

Another favorite was the red curry-coconut chicken ($9) with Thai basil, bamboo shoots and mixed peppers. This had less of a beat-you-up-and-leave-you-next-to-the-wait-station bite to it. Thanks to the coconut milk, the curry retained a lot of spice, but also had a smooth sweetness to it. Also memorable, the pad thai ($9) featured the traditional sauteed noodle dish with chicken, peanuts, tamarind and sprouts. (It's also available with lobster and shrimp for $15). It's among the very best in town.

Also a knockout, especially to your tonsils, is the southern-style fried rice ($15) with crab, shrimp, lobster and Thai basil. Once again, the spices rise up and bite you rather quickly. However, they are not overwhelming, but simply another part of the whole with the rich scent and variety of tastes on the plate. You can easily see the tiny dangerous red dots of spice among the kernals of rice. Does it stop you? No, of course it doesn't. Though it may slow you down enough to take some home.

Busara is a spicy place, but don't let that scare you off. There are so many flavors and smells, textures and sensations colliding on the plate that you won't be able to get enough of the menu.

As for dessert, the fried ice cream ($5.50) with mango sauce was a disappointment. The sauce itself was great, a sweet and refreshing treat, as was the ice cream, once you got past the fried batter. That wasn't so hot, but rather flat, uninspired and somewhat doughy.

It was only one of a few missteps in a place I'm thinking about again already.