Prototype Issue
Hot as Hell: Spicy Delights in the City of Angels
By Steve Coulter
(page 1 of 1)When it comes to heat, there’s the burning LA sun, and then there’s the scorching chili pepper. After that, everything else seems mild. Thai Town, Chinatown, Olvera St., Little Tokyo, Little Ethiopia, Koreatown, Little Armenia and beyond—to Little Saigon and Little India—just about all of the cultures in LA’s multiethnic stew have a spicy dish or two to offer.
Whether you eat it with chopsticks, a fork, a ceramic spoon or your fingers, there is simply no denying that some like it hot. Here’s a collection of restaurants that reflects the devilish side of our city of angels.
Lu Gi
A distant cousin to Japanese shabu shabu, the Szechuan hot pot at Lu Gi offers the yin and yang of tabletop cooking. On one side is an innocuous bubbling broth, while on the other is a fiery scarlet stew. Order uncooked items from a menu that includes sliced beef, vegetables, shrimp, fish balls and goose liver and drop them into either side of the cauldron before you. Cook your morsels in the molten lava, if you dare, and you will experience a deliciously staggering heat. 539 W. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel, 626-457-5111
Akbar Cuisine of India
If a restaurant’s menu includes a chili meter, it’s safe to assume that the proprietors know a little something about heat. So when you dare to order the flamethrowing pepper lamb (with its perfect five out of five chili rating), don’t be surprised if the manager tells you flat out, “You’re crazy.” Akbar’s flavorful Indian cuisine has a reputation that precedes itself at all five LA locations, and most notably at its lively Santa Monica branch, where the open-air kitchen regularly fills the small dining room with the tempting scent of curry. 2627 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, 310-586-7469, www.akbarcuisineofindia.com.
Hot Wings Café
Among Melrose Ave.’s hip boutiques sits the unassuming Hot Wings Café. Although it offers a full menu of salads and sandwiches, the go-to dish is undoubtedly the plump, piquant Buffalo wings. Complemented by a soothing side of celery and carrot sticks, these tangy treats come in four flavors: mild, hot, spicy BBQ and extra hot. But beware, unlike most heat hawkers around town, Hot Wings Café seems to actually know the meaning of the word spicy. 7011 Melrose Ave., LA, 323-930-1233
Palms Thai
With hyperattentive service and consistently pleasing food, this well known Thai Town hot spot offers pepper-and-garlic or chili-and-holy-basil dishes that are a cut above the norm. For something out of the ordinary, try the “Wild Things” menu, featuring the “super spicy” chicken in jungle curry with pickled bamboo shoots, baby corn and carrots. It’s an extremely pungent concoction that packs an unusual wallop. When they ask you how hot you want it, tell them, “Thai hot,” then prepare to sweat. 5900 Hollywood Blvd., Suite BLA, 323-462-5073, www.palmsthai.com.
A Daring Delight
If not for the daring of Nirvana Chef Ramanuj Sahai, Angelenos might not be able to savor the fiery royal Indian delicacy that is the galouti kebab. Born from the chefs of Nawab Asaf-Ud-Daulah, who reigned in Awadh—now Uttar Pradesh in Northern India—around 1775 to 1797, the secrets to this 36-spice, melt-in-your mouth delight were handed down through generations of imperial personnel to civilian epicures, kept only in the hands of a select few. Thanks to his bold act of gastronomic espionage, Sahai uncovered the galouti kebab’s well-guarded recipe. In 1995, as a chef at the Hyatt Regency Delhi, Sahai spent 15 days in Lucknow—the venerable capital of the former Awadh region—to learn the spices used by the locals. His mission? To prepare for the Hyatt’s upcoming Lucknow food festival. Donning kurta pajamas—the traditional wear of the residents—Sahai posed as a kitchen assistant to work at Tunda Mian, the restaurant famous for keeping the galouti tradition alive. Today, while hush-hush about most of the dish’s ingredients, Sahai says he seasons the finely ground lamb with royal black cumin, saffron and rose leaf before smoking the kebab in an Indian skillet. With its velvety texture, the galouti kebab will dissolve on your tongue as taste buds awaken from a spicy hot tang. Royally delicious. —Judy Asman
Akbar Cuisine of India includes a chili meter on its menu, so it’s safe to assume that the proprietors know a little something about heat. When you order the flamethrowing pepper lamb, don’t be surprised if the manager tells you flat out, ‘You’re crazy.”
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