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White Castle Adds New Hot Chicken Sliders

white-castle-hot-chicken-slidersCOLUMBUS, Ohio – White Castle is introducing the Hot Chicken Slider and Bacon & Smoked Chicken Slider to its summer menu. The spicy sliders will be available for a limited time at most White Castle restaurants from June 2 to July 31.

The Hot Chicken Slider is available either fried or grilled and is topped with hot sauce and fried pickles. The Bacon & Smoked Cheddar Chicken Slider features fried grilled chicken topped with cheddar cheese and hickory-smoked bacon.

These hot new chicken sliders join White Castle’s Crispy Chicken Breast Slider and Savory Grilled Chicken Slider.

McDonald’s to Test Sriracha Menu Items

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If you hadn’t known before, McDonald’s has often used its San Diego-based restaurants as a testing ground for a handful of new ideas. What’s next on the world’s largest burger chain’s list for keeping up with the tastes of the country? Sriracha and Big Mac Special Sauce.

The special spicy sandwich is slated to be made with white cheddar, kale, spinach, crispy onions, tomato and a secret blend of Sriracha and traditional Big Mac sauce. The flavor option is…

Review – Wendy’s Jalapeño Fresco Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Ghost Pepper Fries

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As I have probably written many times, it’s probably useless to mention something along the lines of “spicy stuff” is invading every facet of the food industry. Duh. You already knew that.

What may be notable and relevant right now are the boundaries to which companies are crossing to bring in the heat freaks with their products. To give a fast food item a label of “ghost pepper” would have seemed incomprehensible as little as five years ago. Now in 2015, the number of major chains offering ghost pepper-titled options now require multiple hands to count them.

Wendy’s has had fiery sandwiches since the George W. Bush administration, but they have recently debuted their Jalapeño Fresco Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Ghost Pepper Fries.

Is there anything to be excited about here for chileheads? Well, read on…

Wendy’s Brings Heat with Fresh Jalapeños, Ghost Peppers with Two New Spicy Offerings

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Wendy’s is soon debuting two spicy limited-time menu items next week that is great for the Chilehead on the go – the Jalapeño Fresco Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Ghost Pepper Fries.

The sandwich features Wendy’s signature spicy blend and 100% all white meat chicken breast, topped with fresh, diced jalapeños and specially made ghost pepper sauce, and capped with a bakery-inspired, freshly toasted red jalapeño bun. The heat is complemented with savory flavors from warm, melty cheese sauce, delicious Colby Pepper Jack cheese and a crunchy red onion. Recommended Price: $4.99.

The Ghost Pepper Fries are smothered in cheese sauce and then topped with diced, fresh jalapeños, shredded cheddar cheese and a ghost pepper sauce. Recommended Price: $1.99.

Although “spicy” or jalapeño-laden sandwiches are typical for fast food chains nowadays, ghost pepper-flavored items are still our of the norm. I plan to test out these fries and see if they would appeal to both chileheads as well as the mild-mouthed general public.

Taco Bell Tests Sriracha Flavored Items

taco-bell-sriracha-menuTaco Bell tests out Sriracha sauce menu to tap into spice-loving cult following.

NEW YORK (AP) — Want to take a run for the border but wind up in Bangkok?

Taco Bell is testing a new menu that promises just that, looking to tap into the cult following for the red Thai hot sauce known as Sriracha.

The Mexican-themed chain said the menu is being tested at more than 70 restaurants in the Kansas City area. The selections appear to be menu standards like nachos and tacos, except with the hot sauce mixed in.

The test is the latest sign that Americans are embracing spicier flavors, with Subway also rolling out a sandwich with the red, chili-garlic-flavored sauce last year.

Taco Bell, which is owned by Yum Brands Inc., has been on a strong run since rolling out its Dorito-flavored tacos in 2012. Since then, it has looked to build on the success with a variety of new offerings, including snacks intended to draw customers during slower hours.

Review – Buffalo Wild Wings Ghost Pepper Sauce and Salted Caramel BBQ Sauce

As promised a few days ago, below is my review for Buffalo Wild Wings Ghost Pepper Sauce and Salted Caramel BBQ Sauce wings. These two wings sauces, along with their Classic Margarita Sauce is a brand new trio that’s part of B-Dub’s “Sauce Lab” – which is a slick marketing term for “limited time only” flavors for their namesake chicken pieces.

I’m all about great taste, but what is especially notable is that after asking the former head of research and development, Sylvia Matzke-Hill, about the possible introduction of a ghost pepper sauce, the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based restaurant chain has finally released one.

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In a display purely for show, the wait staff is instructed to bring out any Ghost Pepper Sauce Wing order wearing protective eye goggles.  And yes, that is a flashing light on the tray with the wings…

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Buffalo Wild Wings New Sauces – Ghost Pepper, Salted Caramel and Classic Margarita Sauces

It’s time for another batch of new sauces from Buffalo Wild Wings. This time out, the chicken wing chain has a trio of new flavors: the super-hot Ghost Pepper Sauce; whch by some accounts, is hotter than their previously-hottest Blazin’; Salted Caramel BBQ Sauce, a sweet and salty blend; and Classic Margarita Sauce, a fruity alcoholic beverage-style spin put into buffalo wing form.

I will be trying these (with a formal review to follow) this coming weekend, so stay tuned! If you’re interested in these BWW wing flavor options yourself, let if be known that these are only available for a limited time only at participating Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants.

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Review – White Castle Sriracha Chicken Sliders

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The sriracha craze is building to dizzying new heights, and here we are already with another major QSR chain pushing in the case of White Castle (Subway had introduced theirs last year). The 93-year-old-company has (with the usual disclaimer of “for a limited time only”) introduced two different chicken sandwiches with the zing of sriracha sauce: the Ultimate Sriracha Chicken Slider and the Sriracha Chicken Slider.

Both are of the slider variety and feature fried chicken patties with breading that is seasoned with the flavor of sriracha. Sriracha, for the few of you who don’t know, is the type of Asian-style sauce with strong garlic and salt tones, a hint of sweetness on a red chile pepper base. It’s most famous version is Huy Fond Foods’ Sriracha Sauce…

Review – Domino’s Specialty Chicken – Classic Hot Buffalo, and Spicy Jalapeno-Pineapple

dominos-specialty-chicken-classic-hot-buffalo-spicy-jalapeno-pineappleIf you’re in the mood for some decent delivery pizza, you can find a much better joint to order from than Domino’s Pizza. Oddly, to battle a poor reputation (which may or may not have been deserved) a few years back, Domino’s had revamped their core pizza recipes but actually came out with an even worse product, despite some aggressive marketing tryin to convince the masses otherwise.

It is Domino’s vast array of sides, that in my opinion set them apart from the other national chains. Although not all of their sides are stellar, they are distinctively guilty pleasure enough to purchase if my boys try to convince me to order from them.

Domino’s has recently introduced their Specialty Chicken, a very…

Review – Qdoba’s New Fiery Queso Diablo and Zesty Queso Verde

qdoda-queso-sampler-new-queso-diablo-and-queso-verde-cheesesQdoba, one of my favorite Mexican-style QSR chains, has had a winner in their long-standing 3-Cheese Queso. Now they are expanding their once singular liquid cheese offering into two new flavors based on burgeoning types of heat and taste profiles: Fiery Queso Diablo, a darker blend filled with jalapeños and smoky chipotles, and Zesty Queso Verde, a bright and herby Zesty Queso Verde. Do these upstarts get my thumbs up and delight my taste buds? Well, read on, fellow foodies…

Hot Girls in Hot Sauce Costumes

Kate Upton in a sexy Tabasco CostumeYes, Halloween was last week, but that doesn’t mean that it the celebrating has to be over. In fact, any time of the year is a great time for admiring creative costumes, more specifically ones based on hot sauce AND worn by attractive females!

Costumes in the style of Taco Bell hot sauce packets seem to have been the big rage, while Sriracha sauce bottle costumes are gaining in popularity.

So if you want to see cute girls in hot outfits based in chile pepper sauces, hear you go! Enjoy. 😉

Subway to Launch Multiple Sriracha Subs to Coincide with Hunger Games: Catching Fire

subway-sriracha-fiery-november-hunger-games-catching-fireI’ve just learned yesterday through the proverbial grapevine that Subway is launching multiple products next month to kick off a “Fiery November” that coincides with the release of the upcoming film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Yeah, movie ties between movie picture studios and QSR chains have been going on for decades, but this is a big one for the sandwich leader, as the first The Hunger Games was a gargantuan hit at the box office, devouring more than $400,000,000 in ticket sales domestically. There’s no reason why the highly-anticipated sequel wouldn’t set cinemas ablaze with similar dollar amounts.

For spicy food fans, what may be more interesting news is that Subway is launching a their nationwide Fiery November cross-promotion by introducing at least two products featuring Sriracha Chile Sauce! Now, I’m not exactly the biggest fan of this style of condiment (I think that the Huy Fong brand aka “Rooster Sauce” in particular is extremely overrated). Despite my personal opinions, there are no doubt ravenous fans of Sriracha, and this is big news in the chilehead world, as it’s yet another shining example of fiery foods catching on with the mainstream.

More details to come.

Subway to Launch Multiple Sriracha Subs to Coincide with Hunger Games: Catching Fire

McDonald’s Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder Burger Review

McDonald's Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder Burger ReviewYep! The world’s largest (in terms of sales) fast food chain now has something on their menu with theword “habanero” on it. McDonald’s Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder is certainly not the first time a major QSR chain has introduced a habanero product. In fact, it was four years ago that I had reviewed a habanero chicken sandwich from pizza outlet Domino’s, and other have had the capsicum chinense chile pepper in uses such as wings sauces, among others.

But with the Golden Arches debuting this type of level of spice in a sandwich, it certainly marks a milestone in the proliferation of fiery foods in the mainstream, albeit a relatively lame one…

Yes, I’ll cut to the chase. Mickey D’s Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder is…

Scotty Loves to Munch on Fuzzy Tacos

Fuzzy's Taco Shop - St. Louis area, in Webster Groves, MOFuzzy’s Taco Shop is a growing chain of Mexican-style restaurants. The first location was built a little over 10 years ago in Forth Worth, Texas. Now franchises are spreading throughout the Soutwest, South and Midwest United States; and as of this writing, there are 53 stores across 11 states.

I was graciously invited to the VIP Grand Opening of the first Fuzzy’s Tacos in the St. Louis, Missouri Metro area, situated in the suburban town of Webster Groves.

The atmosphere and attitude were a far cry from your traditional south-of-the-border eateries. Instead of mariachi music playing, Fuzzy’s goes instead for a Baja California-style ambience; and as a matter of fact, with Jimmy Buffet being pumped through the ceiling’s speakers, the joint almost had a cool, Key West feel to it. This I liked.

One aspect of Fuzzy’s is the usage of double entendres and blatant sexual innuendos…

Review – Buffalo Wild Wings Jammin’ Jalapeno and Thai Curry Sauces

Buffalo Wild Wings Jammin' Jalapeno and Thai Curry SaucesIt’s new flavorings time at Buffalo Wild Wings, and when I got word of two new sauces they were offering – Jammin’ Jalapeno and Thai Curry – you had better believe that I wanted to try them. The Jammin’ Jalapeno sounded intriguing, as its marketing description was, “Spicy jalapenos, blended with a touch of tequila and a hint of lime. Sweet heat.” Yet it was B-Dubs’ spin on another Asian flavor that got me walking through their doors. Of course, with most of their new sauces, they come attached with all the standard phraseology to go along with it, e.g., for a limited time only, etc.