Spicy Food Reviews (and Recipes)

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

Review: Nashville Fire Chicken Sandwich from Pecan Street Brewing

Bottom Line: The Nashville Fire Chicken Sandwich from Pecan Street Brewing is not a typical version of that classic, but it delivers that perfect point where fire meets flavor. The chains have plenty of options out there for good, spicy chicken sandwiches as each tries to top the competition in the Chicken Sandwich Wars. But if you look beyond the better-known restaurants and fast food joints, you can find some blazing poultry offerings that...

Review: The Sweet Meats and Texas Twinkie Pizzas from The Growler Exchange in San Antonio

Bottom Line: The Growler Exchange in San Antonio is tossing some spicy pizzas that go well with the many beers they have on tap. We have quite a number of breweries and tap houses here in San Antonio (and I cover those in more detail at CraftBeersAndMore.com), and many of those places offer food to go along with the beers they are pouring. One of the most common items you will see on the menus is pizza because . . . well . . who doesn’t love...

Review: Creamy Chipotle Crispy Chicken Taco from Taco Bell

Bottom Line: The Creamy Chipotle Crispy Chicken Taco from Taco Bell is quite familiar and quite tasty, but not too spicy. A Volcano version would surely be welcome. Taco Bell is trying to get into the Chicken Sandwich Wars action again. Not quite so blatantly as when it put out the Chicken Sandwich Taco (which was pretty good, more on that here), but they are promoting crispy chicken once more hoping to convince people that a taco is the better...

Review: Cheesy Jalapeno Sausage & Egg Biscuit from McDonald’s

Bottom Line: The Cheesy Jalapeno Sausage & Egg Biscuit from McDonald’s brings quite a kick to one of their breakfast staples. I don’t know if you like spicy first thing in the morning, but I’m usually up for something that delivers a bit of heat. I don’t necessarily want to set my mouth on fire because I will be having my cup of coffee as well, but waking up to a little burn can be nice. And the fast food industry has been...

Hot Sauce Finds: Tabasco Sriracha

Bottom Line: Tabasco’s version of Sriracha sauce has a similar taste to Huy Fong’s but with a little extra kick of heat and garlic. Huy Fong Sriracha sauce is still hard to find in stores due to a pepper shortage (more on that here) and bottles of the stuff are selling for upwards of fifty dollars on Amazon.com! No need to be spending that much money, though, because there are options out there to tide you over during this period of...

Review: Spicy Chipotle Ranch Crispy Chicken Sandwich from Bill Miller’s

Bottom Line: The Chipotle Ranch Crispy Chicken Sandwich from Biller Miller’s delivers a superior poultry sammy with a little bit of a kick. The Chicken Sandwich Wars have led to quite a number of poultry options showing up at the fast food chains over the last few years. But if the opportunity presents itself to go local, I always prefer to take that route. Bill Miller’s is a barbeque and chicken chain that is exclusive to San Antonio and...

Review: Cheesy Jalapeno Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonald’s

Bottom Line: The Cheesy Jalapeno Bacon QPC from McDonald’s adds a nice, spicy kick to a fast food classic. McDonald’s is one of the best-known fast food franchises the world over, but it is not exactly a go-to location for spicy food. Sure, it has the spicy chicken sandwich that is expected in the drive thru these days (more on that one here) and it brings back the spicy chicken nuggets from time to time (which are actually pretty good, more...

Review: Chorizo and Egg Wrap from Dunkin

Bottom Line: The Chorizo and Egg Wrap from Dunkin delivers a satisfying and tasty breakfast item with a little kick of heat. When it comes to breakfast, there are not too many spicy options available if you are looking for something on the run. But the fast food industry throws an item or two on the menu from time to time--usually only available for a limited basis--and I will give them a try if I catch them while they are still around. Dunkin...

Salsa Finds: Cholula Original Salsa and Salsa Verde

Bottom Line: The new salsas from Cholula do not bring a lot of heat, but they do deliver on taste. Cholula is best known for the wood-topped bottles of hot sauce that have become ubiquitous in many eating establishments across the country. They bill themselves as the “No. 1 Mexican Hot Sauce in the World” and they are probably second to only Tabasco in this country in name recognition. Over the years, they have put out a variety of flavors,...

Review: Volcano Taco from Taco Bell

Bottom Line: The Lava Sauce on the Volcano Taco from Taco Bell brings some heat and a boost of flavor to that chain's standard crispy taco. Taco Bell is at it again, spicing things up on its menu. Those who frequent that fast food establishment know that its regular offerings do not bring that much heat, but you can kick them up to your liking with the Fire or Diablo sauce packets (or might I recommend Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce which...