# Seattleites don't do 'hot' **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335 "2009-10-19T14:58:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/21 "2009-10-19T19:17:00Z")
Oh well, at least the weather is nice here. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/22 "2009-10-19T19:35:22Z")
> [@Algorithm](#): > > Oh well, at least the weather is nice here. Seattle: When Vancouver isn’t rainy enough for ya. Disclaimer: I _love_ Seattle. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/23 "2009-10-19T19:48:31Z")
Thinking of spicy places in Seattle, I can recommend BBQ Chicken in the U-District. It’s a Korean chain and the wings I got there were as spicy as the ones I’d had in Korea a month earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/24 "2009-10-19T19:59:43Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > On the whole, though- yeah, I had a hard time finding spicy food in Seattle. In Redmond there was a mexican place by the name of El Matador (across from Whole Foods). They had a really good and hot habanero sauce for their enchiladas. Not sure what I was thinking, here. I meant Half Price Books, \*not \*Whole Foods. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/25 "2009-10-19T21:05:37Z")
I agree you have to try hard to get spicy food. A lot of Indian places I go to I have to ask for “India hot” and it seems to help. The Man at Dixies is definately hot. Pagliachi’s is ok for a chain, there are 2 near me on the eastside, little mom and pop places Pine Lake Pizza and Fankies pizza, both are quite good. As for merguez, I make my own, that solves the spice problem 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/26 "2009-10-19T21:18:52Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > I went there sometime last year, and very briefly met a small amount of The Man. I thought I liked spicy food, but that was enough for me. I had a 520 Special with two spoonfuls of The Man. You know how, when you eat something really spicy, even your lips feel hot? Well, that feeling spread all the way around to the back of my neck. Basically, the lower half of my head felt hot. You want hot, **Johnny** ; that’s the place. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/27 "2009-10-19T21:26:10Z")
Not a Seattle-ite, but I can tell you confidently that Taco Bell mild sauce is pretty much the upper limit of my spicyness tolerance. Ten years ago I couldn’t even tolerate that. When I was a kid, MommaHomie would make big casseroles for the whole family to eat. If she were to shake even a couple of shakes of table pepper into the whole pot (not one serving, mind; the _whole pot_), the casserole would be rendered inedible for me. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/28 "2009-10-19T23:59:57Z")
I’ve already decided that the next time I have a chance to get Indian food, I’m going to order “Tell the chef to make it the way he’d like it, and don’t tell him I’m white”. I’ve yet to be served Indian food that’s too hot for me. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/29 "2009-10-20T01:13:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve already decided that the next time I have a chance to get Indian food, I’m going to order “Tell the chef to make it the way he’d like it, and don’t tell him I’m white”. I’ve yet to be served Indian food that’s too hot for me. Agreed, the only place I had Indian that was too hot for me was in New Dheli. And even then it tasted so good I kept eating while the tears streamed down my face. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/30 "2009-10-20T03:33:03Z")
People are often surprised to learn there are Thais, Indians etc who cannot eat hot. My wife is one of them; I can eat a lot hotter than she ever can, even though I don’t like it too spicy. I know Thais who cannot eat even the least bit hot. So when you ask a chef to prepare it how he likes it, he might be one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/31 "2009-10-20T03:34:12Z")
Pacific NW spicy means\* fresh \*ground pepper in your clam chowder! As for pizza, if you get down to Portland look up Flying Pie, it’s the best I know. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/32 "2009-10-20T03:42:49Z")
Just checked, there is a Flying-Pie in Issaquah, Wa. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/33 "2009-10-20T04:13:01Z")
I live in the Seattle area, and I love it hot. Very hot. Best not to make generalisations and try to pass them off as fact. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > People are often surprised to learn there are Thais, Indians etc who cannot eat hot. My wife is one of them; I can eat a lot hotter than she ever can, even though I don’t like it too spicy. I know Thais who cannot eat even the least bit hot. So when you ask a chef to prepare it how he likes it, he might be one of those. Peppers of the capsicum genus come from the US and have only recently (last 400 or so years) been introduced into Asian cuisine. Of course they all don’t like it spicy. Many South Americans don’t like it spicy and they have thousands of years on those asians. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/34 "2009-10-20T11:30:30Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > There’s a joke that they make “Minnesota salsa” by chopping up tomatoes and onions. Hot peppers nowhere to be seen, and lots of Scandinavians living there too. I hope they soaked those onions first. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/35 "2009-10-20T12:22:10Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Go to Dixie’s Barbecue in Bellevue (it’s right under the I-405/520 interchange) during lunch. Tell them you want to meet The Man. > > I haven’t been there in 12 years, but if it’s anything like it used to be, you won’t be disappointed. My thoughts exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/36 "2009-10-20T14:24:53Z")
> [@Epimetheus](#): > > I live in the Seattle area, and I love it hot. Very hot. > > Best not to make generalisations and try to pass them off as fact… Good! Then you can recommend restaurants in the area that offer spicy foods. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/37 "2009-10-20T15:51:23Z")
> [@Epimetheus](#): > > Best not to make generalisations and try to pass them off as fact. I don’t think anyone with working brain cells is going to really think that all people in the Seattle area don’t like hot food. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/38 "2009-10-20T18:13:56Z")
Bellevue is a bit far, so Dixie’s is out – and lunchtime is approaching! I could go to Bell Thai. They’re OK and I can get it hot, but sometimes their curry is a bit on the salty side. Or there’s an Tandoori Hut several blocks up 2nd. The buffet isn’t spicy though. (Not ‘hot’ spicy.) Pho is good, since it comes with peppers and Sriracha; but I made soup on Saturday and there’s a lot of it. Mama’s Mexican Kitchen is just around the corner, at the other end of the block from the Crocodile. Basically the only Mexican around, and I’m not impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/39 "2009-10-20T18:22:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Bellevue is a bit far, so Dixie’s is out – and lunchtime is approaching! > > I could go to Bell Thai. They’re OK and I can get it hot, but sometimes their curry is a bit on the salty side. Or there’s an Tandoori Hut several blocks up 2nd. The buffet isn’t spicy though. (Not ‘hot’ spicy.) Pho is good, since it comes with peppers and Sriracha; but I made soup on Saturday and there’s a lot of it. Mama’s Mexican Kitchen is just around the corner, at the other end of the block from the Crocodile. Basically the only Mexican around, and I’m not impressed. Never go to Mama’s unless you’re already drunk. Never. Go to El Puerco Llorõn on the stairclimb, right next to Zig Zag. ETA: Or the Mexican grocery at the end of the Market next to the Turkish place. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335/40 "2009-10-20T18:32:54Z")
Yeah, Mama’s is pretty mediocre. > [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > ETA: Or the Mexican grocery at the end of the Market next to the Turkish place. Which end of the Market? Turkish place? How have I missed these? Does the Mexican grocery have chicharones? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattleites-dont-do-hot/514335.md?page=3)