Where's the SPICIEST, Most Mouth BURNING YUMMINESS in Town

[ofijr]

I can't believe my beloved chowhound does not already have this thread. Please mention any type of cusine you feel fits the bill: American, Cajun, Indian, Mexican, Thai etc. And any dishes that kicked your behind flavorwise and spicy-wise.

Today I'm specifically looking in WeHo or Westside and around but overall we need a list for SoCal. Angelenos! Let's celebrate our love for spice!

[badvlad]

The India Sweets and Spices on Venice sometimes makes a blistering hot samosa. Bring your own Taj Mahal and add a lot of yogurt.

[odub]

The dry curry at Jitlada is one of the spiciest things I've ever tried though I didn't find it "yummy." In contrast, the nam prik noom at Spicy BBQ (or any place that serves Isaan dishes) is hot but delicious.

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Spicy BBQ
5101 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029

[Mr Taster]

Your beloved Chowhound has addressed this issue in the past.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6078...

Mr Taster

[angelche]

Sujrati Farsan in Little India, Artesia had me crying out of holes burned thru the top of my head. Items that often are not that spicy at Ambala, Ras Raj, or Standard shocked us with their fire.

[mdpilam]

Any specific recs for this place? It's on my list of places to go...

[dharmathug]

head out to the SGV and or Rowland Heights and check out Little Fat Sheep (or Happy Sheep or Little Sheep, they keep changing names and locations because of some lawsuit/copycat issue) , a taiwanese version of Mongolian hot pot. Their spicy soup, (you can get several versions) will literally numb your mouth. Which is good, becasue then your esophagus will numb next and you will be able to swallow the food eventually, and eat a lot of it. Not for the faint of heart. I think it trumps Jitlada in the heat wars. There is a version on Atlantic, on Valley and on Colima in RH, if memory serves me.

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Little Sheep
120 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754

Happy Sheep
18414 Colima Rd, Rowland Heights, CA 91748

[WisePix]

I was just at Pa-Ord (noodle shop in Thai town although they have other dishes too) for the first time and their version of "mild" is pretty darn spicy... so I can only imagine what their "spicy" would taste like. My nose was already running with my mild boat noodles and catfish curry. I did say mild-medium, so maybe they leaned more on the medium, but still a great go-to for spicy authentic country style Thai cooking.

www.wisepix.com

[Di4cats1]

Try the vindaloo at Addi's Tandoor in Redondo Beach. It's their specialty and only comes one way: HOT! If you love Indian, this restaurant is the best I've tried and also has a nice upscale atmosphere.

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Addi's Tandoor
800 Torrance Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

[mc michael]

As a general proposition, I'd go with Jitlada. But Babita in San Gabriel has a shrimp dish that's a scorcher. I think it's made with habaneros. Whatever, it's HOT.

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[Servorg]

Right you are. The Babita dish to ask for (or avoid if you don't have an asbestos lined gullet, stomach and lower intestine) is Shrimp Topolobampo.

[mc michael]

That's it. Just thinking about it makes me thirsty. It's sick.

[Servorg]

Stay thirsty my friend... ;-D>

[mc michael]

Ladies and gentlemen of Chowhound, I give you the Most Interesting Man in the World!

[WildSwede]

lol~

[kevin]

yeah, i did try the sthrimp taopomoablo once, and let's say late in the morning after that lunch a whole sixteen hour slaters it was not pretty.

but yeas, the spicy-iest dish probably i have ever had in LA, or thereabouts. e

[mc michael]

You saw God and you were cleansed, right? All for the price of one dish!

[sel]

Funny, the first time that I went to Babita Mexicusine, still mourning the loss of El Emperador Maya, I had Shrimp Topolobampo and while I recall that it was spicy it was not anywhere near a chili bomb! Maybe I need to try it again!

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Babita
1823 S San Gabriel Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776

[hnsbmg]

"I can't believe my beloved chowhound does not already have this thread."

As with almost everything else, ofijr, you can be sure the LA board has thoroughly discussed this topic. Last year, for example, we thrashed it out in this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/607818

[revets2]

Concur with Jitlada. Also find the Boiled Fish (better than it sounds) and the Cumin Lamb @ Chung King in SG very hot and very good.

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Chung King Restaurant
1000 S San Gabriel Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776

[carter]

Hunan Seafood in Rosemead and Newport Seafood in San Gabriel also vie with Jitlada. Of course I had chinese food yesterday, and the chefs deep fried 5 jalapenos just for me - to get me started!!!

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Hunan Seafood Restaurant
8772 E Valley Blvd, Rosemead, CA 91770

[Servorg]

Just hie thee over to Jitlada in Thai town and tell Jazz that you want their spiciest dishes all at Thai level. After your head explodes please come back and tell us how hot it was.

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[ofijr]

Awesome!! My eyes are blurring in anticipation already. Thanks!

[burntwater]

Can we come watch....

There's also Orochon ramen in Little Tokyo that has a spicey ramen challenge.

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Little Tokyo Restaurant
150 E Bonita Ave, San Dimas, CA 91773

[flowerofhighrank]

Yeah...I did the 'Number 2 Crazy Deathwish Ramen' contest thing and I gotta say:
1. It ain't that hot. It's a lot of crushed red pepper and they float jalapenos on top. It's hot, sure, but the main problem is the sheer mass of it against the time limit. Also,
2. I did it within the time limit, they took my photo...and now it's gone from the wall and the website. I'm not saying it's straight-up racist (I'M KIDDING! I KNOW IT'S NOT RACISM), but if they say your pic is gonna stay up, it oughta stay up.

[Johnny L]

the problem is that too many people actually complete it and their wall gets too full of pics so they take off pics to replace them with new ones.

[Akitist]

Spicy aside, the last time we went to Orochon the recipes have lost some of the "yummy" factor. Cheaping out? Whatever, we haven't been back.

[SugarFrosted]

I'll second Jiltada. You'd better order a lot of rice and keep it close! It's balanced heat, though. Not overpowering the other wonderful flavors in every dish. Now I'm jonesing for their Mango Coconut Salad. Perfect on a blazing hot day in July.

[mucho gordo]

Yeah, it's got to be Thai food. I was going to suggest Sanamluang Cafe here in the valley. They're open 24/7 and it's where the local Thai eat.

[namstermonster]

it's funny... we did that last time and we didn't think it was that spicy... jazz gave us her spicy special... hrm.

[outshined]

I'm not sure the dry curry is even meant for humans. Good though. You'll need about 4 Singhas to make it go down.

[wienermobile]

Definitely Jitlada. Bring milk.

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[HastaLaPasta]

There was a really great article in the LA times on this a few years ago, where some guy took on a challenge to sample some seriously spicy food around town at 6 or 7 restaurants in one night. One place featured wings so hot they had you sign a waiver before they'd let you order them. I think this was Alandro's Hot Wings but I'm not sure. Alas, I can't find the article any more, but this article seems similar:

http://foodmarathon.blogspot.com/2008/10/spiciest-food-marathon.html

He also got Jonathan Gould's opinion, here:

http://www.laweekly.com/2008-10-23/ea...

Personally, my spice limit is pretty much ordering the spiciest Soon Tofu they'll bring a "gaijin" like me at one of the tofu places in Korea Town, or at least the spiciest I can get without taunting the chef and insulting his honor.

[mdpilam]

Last time I was there I noticed they have a "Spicy Challenge" on the menu (I think there were 3 of them), and also a spicy smoothie (which I wanted to get, but ended up not). It almost felt like they jumped the shark - especially when our food (ordered Thai Spicy) arrived and was not very spicy. I am hoping it was just a fluke b/c they were trying to get us in and out quickly.

[shebop]

I tried the Jitlada "spicy challenge" - which basically means that you cannot send the dish back if it's too spicy. It was wonderful, I like my stuff seriously hot, and this was perfect. It burned, but not so much as to be uncomfortable!

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[WisePix]

I second the Jitlada option--they have a very spicy Southern Thai menu that has almost a hundred dishes on it. Also, I want to mention Boiling Crab for Southern style seafood boil with a Vietnamese twist. Think messy crawfish, shrimp, crab, clams, fried oysters, catfish fillet) I can't even deal with their "medium" spiciness... the xxx is crazy and will probably burn your tastebuds to shreds! Jitlada is in Hollywood, Boiling Crab has a few locations (original is in Westminster, although closer locations include 2 in Alhambra and one in Rowland Heights.

Have fun!
http://www.wisepix.com

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[aching]

I was going to say Jitlada too. We forgot to order our food mild and ended up drinking gallons of water with tears streaming down our faces - and laughing our a**es off at our ridiculousness.

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[Servorg]

I've never had hotter food than Thai food. Bangkok almost killed me. But what a way to go...