Man vs. (Spicy) Food

One of my current favorite shows on television is the Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food.  The host, Adam Richman, visits many cities, checking out some the city’s best restaurants, and taking on some of the most legendary eating challenges.  Many of those challenges involved eating ridiculous amounts of food in a small amount of time (like eating a 4.5 pound steak, a 4 lb. grilled cheese sandwich, a 6-pound shake with a 1.5 pound sandwich, or a 12-egg omelet).  But, some of the most fascinating challenges involve eating spicy food, particularly hot wings from hell and spicy sushi.  Those spicy challenges intrigue me, particularly as I have gotten older and grown more accustomed to spicy foods.

Adam’s battle with the Ghost Chili and Habanero peppers have been the most insane to deal with.  The fact that someone can put their stomach through so much Scoville units of heat has been painful to watch.  And yet, I am working my way towards increasingly higher spicy levels, which is most ironic.

When I was younger, I hated hot and spicy foods.  I ate hot dogs covered with applesauce, and I couldn’t eat the Spicy Fried Chicken found at BoJangles or Mrs. Winner’s.  As I have gotten older, my tastes for spicy meats has become more dominant.  When I go to Chick-Fil-A, for example, I must have a Spicy Chicken Biscuit or their Spicy Chicken Sandwich.  At KFC, I loved consuming their Sauceless Hot Wings, until I discovered their Fiery Grilled Wings were even hotter and better.  My current favorite restaurant is Nando’s, a worldwide restaurant I discovered when in Canberra, Australia.  They specialize in Peri-Peri, a Spicy chili on the Scoville Scale between serrano and habanero peppers.  I’m working my way up to the extremely hot peri-peri chicken  at Nando’s (I’m now on moderate and feel like I could take hot next).

As I go up the spicy level, I come to appreciate how good spicy food really is.  Now, instead of running away from spicy meats, I’m looking for it (still cautiously, though).  Maybe one day I’ll feel confident and brave enough to go after some of the spicy wing challenges that Adam has encountered. Or maybe not.