Ah, fond memories
There are even restaurants where you cannot get the hottest chili foods unless you know the chef and the chef knows you can handle it.
There used to be such a restaurant near where I worked; I used to go there with several of my coworkers quite frequently. The guy who originally brought me to the place advised the chef that I was somewhat resistant to normal heat. (Apparently, before I came onto the scene, the chef had won the battle of the chili's against him.) I don't think he was ever quite able to win against me. (It was a Chinese/Mongolian restaurant, where you could order *spicy* Kung Pao if the chef knew you.)
I did walk out of that place with sweat running down my head on occasion.
Sigh. Out of business, not because of spices but because of marital difficulties in the family that ran the place.