Spicy Food Reviews (and Recipes)

Where Fire Meets Flavor: Covering Foods That Bring the Heat!

Review: Jack in the Box Spicy Chicken Strips

Bottom Line: Jack in the Box delivers some hefty chicken strips with good crunch, good taste, and plenty of heat. For those of us that frequent the drive thru, we know that the menu is always in flux with the latest special getting cast back to Limited-Time-Only-Ville and/or some “permanent” items getting sent to the chopping block. Taco Bell is most notorious for this (Nacho Fries, Mexican Pizza, Spicy Tostada), but Jack also keeps things...

Spicy Snacks: 7-Select Spicy Jalapeno and Ghost Pepper Jumbo Peanuts

Bottom Line: The 7-Select Spicy Jumbo Peanuts offer a nice snack alternative from chips and crackers and they deliver a kick. If you are stopping to get gas and want to grab a quick snack that has a kick, you might head to the nearest 7-Eleven and try their jumbo spicy peanuts. These come in convenient 2 ¼ oz size bags and make the perfect snack for on the go. They have three spicy flavors available: Chipotle Tequila Lime, Spicy Jalapeno, and...

Recipe: Quick & Easy Spicy Ground Beef

This is a tasty recipe for spicy ground beef that can be used for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and more, and it is great for kids who won’t eat their veggies because it hides a fair amount of vegetables in the meat. Ingredients 1 Pound Ground Beef (preferably 80% lean) 1 Tablespoon Vegetable or Canola Oil ¾ Cup Sweet Onions, Diced ½ Cup Poblano Chili, Diced ½ Cup Rep Bell Pepper or Mini-Sweet Peppers, Diced ½ Cup Carrot, Diced (optional) 1...

Hot Sauce Finds: Red Eye Rooster Sauce and Rooster Reaper Sauce from Pepper Palace

Bottom Line: Pepper Palace's gourmet Red Eye Rooster and Rooster Reaper sauces offer a good alternative to Huy Fong Sriracha and they deliver plenty of heat. As I have mentioned previously on this site, Huy Fong Sriracha sauce is missing on many store shelves these days due to a pepper shortage and that could continue into early Fall. So I have been on the hunt for substitutes (even though I stocked up) in order to suggest some options to those...

Review: Buffalo Bird Dawg from Buffalo Wild Wings

Bottom Line: The Buffalo Bird Dawg from Buffalo Wild Wings is a nice enough change from the standard chicken sandwich, and it delivers some heat (especially if you order their hotter sauces). Wings continue to be quite popular these days, and Buffalo Wild Wings is one of the chains that helped to popularize them from coast to coast. But it has been struggling of late because it shoots for the broader appeal of the casual sit-down restaurants and...

Review: Burger King Southwest Bacon Whopper

Bottom Line: The Southwest Bacon Whopper from Burger King doesn’t bring much heat, but it is a nice twist on a BK classic and worth a trip to the drive thru. The Burger Wars among the fast-food chains have been tough on Burger King with that company losing its Number 2 status to Wendy’s last year. So the King has been scrambling and trying to make up some slack, though he had a pretty big misfire with the Whopper Melts earlier this year (I...

Quick Review: Paqui Jalapeno Tropicale Chips

Bottom Line: Paqui Jalapeno Tropicale Chips could certainly be hotter, but they are still quite tasty and worth a try. When it comes to spicy snacks, Paqui’s Haunted Ghost Chili Chips really bring the heat (more on those here). So I keep an eye out for other varieties from this Austin-based company, and I pick them up when I see something I have not tried yet. Just recently, I found a bag of their Jalapeno Tropicale Chips at my local CVS...

Spicy Snacks: Pringles Scorchin’ Hot Ones Los Calientes Verde

Bottom Line: Pringles Scorchin’ Hot Ones Los Calientes Verde deliver a good marriage of salsa verde and chip and they definitely have a kick As I mentioned in a previous post, Pringles has a new line of Scorchin’ chips out there promising to kick up your snacking experience. They have partnered with the Hot Ones web series from First We Feast which features celebrities being interviewed while eating increasingly hotter wings. Hot Ones has...

Review: Beef Gyro from The Halal Guys

Bottom Line: The Beef Gyro from The Halal Guys is the perfect rendition of that Middle Eastern/Mediterranean street food and the hot sauce delivers quite a burn. Continuing to recount my trek to New York City in search of spicy foods, my next stop was yet another food cart. This time I visited The Halal Guys, though largely because their proprietary hot sauce was recommended to me. I checked out one of the carts near my hotel and that beef gyro...