Definitely. There was a burrito place by me that I used to ask for their hottest sauce and every time I asked for it, they gave me a half squint and said, “are you sure? It’s really spicy.” It was never what I would consider even moderately spicy. I think they were just racially profiling me…which I guess I can’t complain about if that’s the worst way I’ll be racially profiled in life.
I have a similar story. I can handle hot, and seek it out because who doesn’t love endorphins? I asked for their hot salsa, and then asked if they had anything hotter. She brought out this small dish and stood there and watched me eat it and made a derisive grunt before walking away. It was the hottest salsa experienced, I broke out into sweats and then hives. For the next day any mild perspiration caused me to break out into a rash.
Haha, I’ve experienced something similar to that. I ordered queso at a taco place and there was a sliced pepper floating on top. My wife doesn’t like spicy food, so I will grab that stuff immediately. It was a little hot, definitely felt a slight burn. A few minutes later, the waitress came out and was looking at the queso, then the tray, then the plates and the floor. She was slightly panicked and said, “did this come out with a pepper on it?!” And then explained that she tells all her guests not to eat the pepper because it’s too spicy and they get a lot of complaints. Definitely way too dramatic for the heat level of that thing.
“Is there a non-white people extra spicy?” I’ve had to convince waiters at many restaurants that I really mean it.
Recent experience - I had the chef come out and double check with me at a new Indian restaurant and I confirmed extra spicy - and he was right, it was pretty tongue melting. Now I usually order spicy unless I’m really in the mood. Sometimes (sadly rare) they mean it!
My wife and I went to an Indian restaurant and the owners were letting their daughter take the orders. She was maybe 7 or 8 or so. I ask for something extra spicy and she asks Indian or American extra spicy. I say Indian.
She looks worried and walks off. Place was not very busy and dad is watching from the corner as she takes orders, so she goes over to him…
whispers
She comes back and asks “are you sure? Indian extra spicy is very spicy”. I say yes, she walks back and there is more whispering, this time with Mom also there. Concerned looks from all three directed at our table. It was hard not to burst out in a laugh.
When the dish came it was some serious spice. Maybe the hottest thing I’ve ever had at a restaurant. And it was delicious. I think the owner asked what I thought when I was paying the bill. I was sweating a bit (rare for me) and probably dipping into the naan to cool things off when he asked. :)
I remember eating at a Chinese restaurant and ordering something “extra spicy”. The waiter asked, oh, what level? Well, I had eaten there before and didn’t know they had a level, so asked what that meant. He said 1-10, with 10 being spiciest. I said 10 and continued looking at the menu (it’s a rather large one), waiting for the other orders. Then I notice there is a silence and look up.
Waiter is staring at me, concerned. He says “no one has ever said 10!”. After that, others at the table had to change their orders to 10 to try it out, LOL.
After all that, it was spicier than the normal extra spicy I’ve had there, but it was not worth the panic the waiter had. :)
My favorite way of people trying to calibrate things for you in real time is if they ask something like: “do you want that Indian hot, or American hot?”, I take the subtext being, “okay, white guy, let’s make sure you buckle up if you ask for the Indian hot version”. 🤣
In my experience, Indian restaurants can bring the spicy. So can (some) Thai places. They can really turn things up and tear off the knob for pepperheads if they know they can take the bubble-wrap off for you as a customer. :)
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten at a Mexican restaurant that really turned things up, but I think that’s mostly because the peppers they use are rather limited in their upper end. Most of it has been around store-bought “extra hot” salsa level which doesn’t phase me.
It’s always nice to find a Mexican restaurant that makes a serious house habanero salsa, and every once in a while they’re amazing! I went to one restaurant for about a decade when I found their amazing salsa, but at some point they couldn’t import their chef’s preferred peppers anymore and stoped making it.
I’ve had a much easier time finding Indian that can bring the spice - I assume their spice collection is broader than most, but I love when I can find a seriously spicy Thai dish.
IKR? I hate it when something is supposed to be spicy but seems to be calibrated for someone that thinks black pepper is spicy.
Definitely. There was a burrito place by me that I used to ask for their hottest sauce and every time I asked for it, they gave me a half squint and said, “are you sure? It’s really spicy.” It was never what I would consider even moderately spicy. I think they were just racially profiling me…which I guess I can’t complain about if that’s the worst way I’ll be racially profiled in life.
I have a similar story. I can handle hot, and seek it out because who doesn’t love endorphins? I asked for their hot salsa, and then asked if they had anything hotter. She brought out this small dish and stood there and watched me eat it and made a derisive grunt before walking away. It was the hottest salsa experienced, I broke out into sweats and then hives. For the next day any mild perspiration caused me to break out into a rash.
It was amazing. 10/10 would recommend.
Haha, I’ve experienced something similar to that. I ordered queso at a taco place and there was a sliced pepper floating on top. My wife doesn’t like spicy food, so I will grab that stuff immediately. It was a little hot, definitely felt a slight burn. A few minutes later, the waitress came out and was looking at the queso, then the tray, then the plates and the floor. She was slightly panicked and said, “did this come out with a pepper on it?!” And then explained that she tells all her guests not to eat the pepper because it’s too spicy and they get a lot of complaints. Definitely way too dramatic for the heat level of that thing.
The trick is to ask them if the spice is scaled for white people or not
“Is there a non-white people extra spicy?” I’ve had to convince waiters at many restaurants that I really mean it. Recent experience - I had the chef come out and double check with me at a new Indian restaurant and I confirmed extra spicy - and he was right, it was pretty tongue melting. Now I usually order spicy unless I’m really in the mood. Sometimes (sadly rare) they mean it!
My wife and I went to an Indian restaurant and the owners were letting their daughter take the orders. She was maybe 7 or 8 or so. I ask for something extra spicy and she asks Indian or American extra spicy. I say Indian.
She looks worried and walks off. Place was not very busy and dad is watching from the corner as she takes orders, so she goes over to him…
whispers
She comes back and asks “are you sure? Indian extra spicy is very spicy”. I say yes, she walks back and there is more whispering, this time with Mom also there. Concerned looks from all three directed at our table. It was hard not to burst out in a laugh.
When the dish came it was some serious spice. Maybe the hottest thing I’ve ever had at a restaurant. And it was delicious. I think the owner asked what I thought when I was paying the bill. I was sweating a bit (rare for me) and probably dipping into the naan to cool things off when he asked. :)
I remember eating at a Chinese restaurant and ordering something “extra spicy”. The waiter asked, oh, what level? Well, I had eaten there before and didn’t know they had a level, so asked what that meant. He said 1-10, with 10 being spiciest. I said 10 and continued looking at the menu (it’s a rather large one), waiting for the other orders. Then I notice there is a silence and look up.
Waiter is staring at me, concerned. He says “no one has ever said 10!”. After that, others at the table had to change their orders to 10 to try it out, LOL.
After all that, it was spicier than the normal extra spicy I’ve had there, but it was not worth the panic the waiter had. :)
My favorite way of people trying to calibrate things for you in real time is if they ask something like: “do you want that Indian hot, or American hot?”, I take the subtext being, “okay, white guy, let’s make sure you buckle up if you ask for the Indian hot version”. 🤣
In my experience, Indian restaurants can bring the spicy. So can (some) Thai places. They can really turn things up and tear off the knob for pepperheads if they know they can take the bubble-wrap off for you as a customer. :)
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten at a Mexican restaurant that really turned things up, but I think that’s mostly because the peppers they use are rather limited in their upper end. Most of it has been around store-bought “extra hot” salsa level which doesn’t phase me.
It’s always nice to find a Mexican restaurant that makes a serious house habanero salsa, and every once in a while they’re amazing! I went to one restaurant for about a decade when I found their amazing salsa, but at some point they couldn’t import their chef’s preferred peppers anymore and stoped making it.
I’ve had a much easier time finding Indian that can bring the spice - I assume their spice collection is broader than most, but I love when I can find a seriously spicy Thai dish.