Not being Thai, its hard for me to describe the difference between street food and restaurant food but it comes down to simple dishes that can be made at a street cart vs a full kitchen.
We were in Bangkok earlier this year and it the first time I really ate a lot of street food. Partly because we stayed near a good street food area and partly because they've become cleaner so I wasn't really worried about getting sick.
One thing that seemed odd is coffee is now very popular in Bangkok where it wasn't first time I went 12 years ago. So now you can find a $3 coffee right next to a $2 bowl of rice porridge and pork or whatever your food of choice is.
There's a good (used to be great) Thai restaurant in Houston called Street to Kitchen. They opened during covid by a trained gourmet chef who happened to be Thai and her farang (American) husband. At first it was next to door to a gas station with plastic chairs and tables. Food was more like Thai street food dishes but with great and varied ingredients. Now she's got a Beard award and moved to a better building. I think they lost the street food charm
