Huy Fong Foods posted banners defending their Sriracha chili sauce at their Irwindale, Calif., factory. Photo courtesy of Watchara Phomincinda/San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Coming back from a busy weekend, I almost forgot to post this news that the Huy Fong Foods factory that makes the most popular version of Sriracha is going to stay put. Here’s the report from the AP News wire:

California City Votes to End Hot Sauce Dispute

The fiery fight is apparently over between the makers of a popular hot sauce and a small Southern California city that said its factory’s smells were unbearable.

The Irwindale City Council voted Wednesday night to drop a public nuisance declaration and lawsuit against Huy Fong Foods, makers of…

I had mentioned last year that McIlhenny Co., makers of Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce, were developing their own version of what is undoubtedly the big hot sauce trend of 2014: Sriracha Sauce.

Coming in the midst of the controversy brewing that Huy Fong Foods, the makers of the current numero uno brand of Sriracha (their version is nicknamed “Rooster Sauce”, which I reviewed a few years back) is facing due to complaints of hometown Irwindale, California of its factory producing too much of a pungent odor, McIlhenny is now poised to strike into this booming sub-genre with its TABASCO® Brand Sriracha Thai Chili Sauce.

According to the product page on official TABASCO website…

IRWINDALE, Calif. (AP) – A Southern California city has declared the Huy Fong Foods, Inc. factory that produces a version of the popular Sriracha hot pepper sauce a public nuisance.

The Irwindale City Council’s action Wednesday night gives the factory 90 days to make changes to stop the spicy odors that prompted complaints from some residents last fall. Declaring a public nuisance will allow city officials to enter the factory and make changes if the odors persist after the deadline.

The decision came despite testimony by air-quality experts that progress was being made toward a resolution. The South Coast Air Quality Management District said its inspectors have taken air samples inside the plant, and believed the information gathered should allow the factory and the city to resolve their differences.

The most recent duel between Puckerbutt Definitely Reaper Puree and CaJohn’s Oaxacan Hot Sauce, no pun intended, was a heated one! Puckerbutt possessed a sizable lead through most of the match-up, but in classic Ultimate Hot Sauce Showdown style, CaJohn’s with their equally classic Oaxacan sauce pulled out ahead to claim a Second Round spot.

Today’s duel is going to be an interesting one! The wildly popular and almost cult-like garnering Huy Fong Sriracha Sauce, AKA “Rooster Sauce”, is the “Goliath” looming large over the “David” of Chef Doug Crane’s Dragon’s Blood Elixir Unique Destiny Sauce. As you could probably guess, Sriracha is the heavy favorite, as it’s now available in the majority of American supermarkets, and it’s by far the most “nationally available” of all sauces in the Ultimate Hot Sauce Showdown. And although it doesn’t have 1/100th of the notority of Sriracha, the absolutely wonderfully-tasting (and, uh, unique) Dragon’s Blood Elixir Unique Destiny Sauce is raved about in hardcore chilehead circles, and the “silent hoardes” of diehard hot sauce fans could possibly help Dragon’s Blood pull off a victory.

Vote below! You have until the End of Day on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 to make your choice.

You can view the bracket as it currently stands here.

According to the New York Times, Huy Fong now sells more than 10 million bottles of sriracha a year. The McIlhenny Company’s Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce is the best selling hot sauce in America and the McIlhenny family wants to keep it that way. CEO Paul McIlhenny, before he recently passed away, was interviewed by Business Week about the growing popularity of sriracha sauce. McIlhenny confirmed they were working on their own recipe for a Tabasco brand sriracha:

“We’re just playing with it at the moment, but we’re definitely looking at the Asian category.”

Although the McIlhenny Company is over a hundred years older than Huy Fong, the two sauce makers have…

Lollyphile’s Sriracha Lollipop…If you are someone who douses just about any food item with fiery red Sriracha sauce, you may be interested in this confection: Sriracha lollipops.

Yep, such a thing exists! They’re made by a candy company that began in San Francisco called Lollyphile. The fiery hot pops will put any cinnamon candy to shame, and the product was clearly born out of a love for the spicier side of things. From the product page…

You may actually like them, tolerate them or plain hate them. Do you think that there’s an overhyped group of spicy condiments that boggles the mind why throngs of consumers rave about but that you just don’t get? Yup, me too. Below I present to you what I believe are the most overrated hot sauces in the market today.

Huy Fong Food Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Do a Google search for Huy Fong Food’s Sriracha Sauce and you’ll be diluged with dozens of results pages containing gushing accolades from food fans on forums, blog comment pages and review sites. The people love this Thai-style pepper sauce.

As much as I tried, I just couldn’t get into this stuff. This one an instance where a sauce had a peculiar atrribute I just couldn’t put my finger on. Perhaps it was too much salt and garlic, but Sriracha had an off-putting dark and bitter horseradish-like flavor, especially in the aftertaste…

Look anywhere online for foodies’ and chileheads’ thoughts on the Americanized version of the Thai Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce produced by Huy Fong Foods in California, and you’ll see an avalanche of rave reviews and comments. People go bonkers for this stuff! Since I’ve never formally reviewed it, Glenn Suarez was kind enough to send me a bottle of Sriracha to review. After trying the sauce on many things, I have to admit I have different feelings about it than others do.