Hot Sauce, Jolokia's... Anywhere to find some HEAT in Chicag

Does anyone know of a store in Chicago or the NW suburbs that sells a good selection of hot sauces? I'm also trying to find fresh Jolokias too.

I used to see things like Dave's, Blair's and things like that in some stores, but can't seem to find them these days.

Can't help with the first and I'm not sure anyone can help with the second, but you may find this thread of interest.

Good luck.

shaunvis wrote:I'm also trying to find fresh Jolokias too.

Not much help in the middle of winter, but LTHForum Great Neighborhood Winner Birrieria Zaragoza was making salsa with home-grown Bhut Jolokia peppers last summer. A tradition I am sure they will continue.

Birrieria Zaragoza
4852 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago
773-523-3700

Cool, thanks for the tip. Looks like I'll have to take a trip there sometime.

G Wiv wrote:

shaunvis wrote:I'm also trying to find fresh Jolokias too.

Not much help in the middle of winter, but LTHForum Great Neighborhood Winner Birrieria Zaragoza was making salsa with home-grown Bhut Jolokia peppers last summer. A tradition I am sure they will continue.

Birrieria Zaragoza
4852 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago
773-523-3700

Last time I was there I inquired about that salsa, and they told me to call about a week in advance and they could have some whipped up for me. The peppers are grown in a family member's house.

This is by no means the hottest of hot sauces, but the great Rick Bayless' Salsa Picante de Chile de Arbol is absolutely wonderful and I always keep some around.

There used to be a place that sold lots of hot sauces in North Pier. Is there anything there any more in that building except for Fox and Obel?

Might want to try one of the Heaven on Seven locations--I think both the River North and Wrigleyville stores have a retail area with a large selection of sauces (but if you're looking for something specific i would call first).

I stopped at Fox & Obel the other day, they just had the usual Tabasco, Louisiana, etc. Tried Heaven on Seven yesterday, the Wabash spot had just two bottles of stuff but that did give me hope. I'm going to stop by the 600 N Mich location today.

I could swear I used to see this stuff all the time, but now that I'm actually looking for it, it's a quest, lol. Oh well, that's half the fun I suppose.

shaunvis wrote:Oh well, that's half the fun I suppose.

I haven't been in a while, but Old World Market, which caters to the African community, has a wide selection of hot sauce, in particular hot sauces with a serious kick. Old World is where I go to stock up on Matouk's Flambeau, Marie Sharp's Habanero, palm oil and smoked cow hooves.

If you want the latest Jolokia tonsil scorcher, along with the standard line-up of "burnt cat hair" standards, check out Mo Hotta, Mo Betta

Old World Market
5129 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL
312-989-4440

If you like adventures in treasure hunting, here's a goofy one:
Marshalls or TJ Maxx. Seriously.
They always seem o have three or four bottles of some random habanero hot sauce back in the food/cookware sections. Pop into them whenever you have two minutes and are near one. Quick in/out. Never know what you'll find.

boudreaulicious wrote:Might want to try one of the Heaven on Seven locations--I think both the River North and Wrigleyville stores have a retail area with a large selection of sauces (but if you're looking for something specific i would call first).

Wrigley location closed years ago and is now Uberstein.

Another offbeat place to find sauces is Menard's.

There used to a couple of stores that carried lots of hot sauces (one in Old Orchard years ago) but it's a tough business model. The Le Gourmet store in the Kenosha Outlet mall always has a range of hot sauces but it's not worth a trip just for that.

Glad you mentioned TJ Max & Marshalls. I emailed Dave's Gourmet asking them about stores that carry stuff & they mentioned those. I just figured "Yea, sure".

Just be forewarned that the packaged foods section at most Marshall's/TJMaxx generally look like a corner bodega in Florida under a hurricane warning. There's a bare minimum of organization on the shelves and there are plenty of one-off or two-off items. Unless you stop in frequently (which is their apparent goal) there may be days when next-to-nothing is available and other days when the shelves look (nearly) full.

For years, the Jewel at Clark & Division has carried Dave's Insanity and a handful of other ultrahigh-Scoville sauces at fairly reasonable prices. I wonder if the manager of this particular store is a hot sauce fan.

About a month ago I got some particularly peppy fresh Scotch bonnet chilies at La Fruteria. Like Old World Market mentioned above, this Afro-Caribbean store carries a nice selection of hot sauces. You might want to check out the jarred Liberian pepper paste (made with habaneros and smoked herring) and the selection of Ghanaian shito (made with cayenne pepper and dried shrimp). These items are not shelved with most of the other hot sauces.

Jewel
1210 N Clark St
Chicago
312-944-6950

La Fruteria
8909 S Commercial Av (3000 E)
Chicago
773-768-4969

JeffB wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Might want to try one of the Heaven on Seven locations--I think both the River North and Wrigleyville stores have a retail area with a large selection of sauces (but if you're looking for something specific i would call first).

Wrigley location closed years ago and is now Uberstein.

oops

I bought a jar of the super hot giardiniera at Bari foods a few years ago. I still have almost all of it. When I bought it I was thinking super hot? I doubt it. Every time I used it I would quickly remember that it is indeed super hot. You can go to Bari Foods or come pick up the rest of mine. I'm now sweating just typing about it.

If you just want to bring on the heat, you might want to buy some chemical flavorings frpm Blair's. http://blairshotsauce.com/

1120 W Grand Ave
(between Aberdeen St & May St)
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 666-0730

deesher wrote:I bought a jar of the super hot giardiniera at Bari foods a few years ago. I still have almost all of it. When I bought it I was thinking super hot? I doubt it. Every time I used it I would quickly remember that it is indeed super hot. You can go to Bari Foods or come pick up the rest of mine. I'm now sweating just typing about it.

That stuff is intense...and addictive. I, too, did not expect it to be really hot. Only when I opened the jar did I realize that all the peppers in the giardiniera are habaneros. And the giard is pretty much completely all peppers. It's delicious if you like habaneros.

Binko wrote:

deesher wrote:I bought a jar of the super hot giardiniera at Bari foods a few years ago. I still have almost all of it. When I bought it I was thinking super hot? I doubt it. Every time I used it I would quickly remember that it is indeed super hot. You can go to Bari Foods or come pick up the rest of mine. I'm now sweating just typing about it.

That stuff is intense...and addictive. I, too, did not expect it to be really hot. Only when I opened the jar did I realize that all the peppers in the giardiniera are habaneros. And the giard is pretty much completely all peppers. It's delicious if you like habaneros.

Yes, I was really surprised by the (enduring) heat level of this product. Usually a glass jar-hot pack suggests to me that its contents won't be hot but not in this case. Yowza!

=R=

shaunvis wrote:Does anyone know of a store in Chicago or the NW suburbs that sells a good selection of hot sauces? I'm also trying to find fresh Jolokias too.

I used to see things like Dave's, Blair's and things like that in some stores, but can't seem to find them these days.

Woodman's would probably have lot of choices but they may be a little farther than you want to travel.

Woodman's Store # 27
7145 120th Avenue
Kenosha, WI 53142
(262) 857-3801

Woodman's Store # 30
3155 McFarland Road
Rockford, IL 61114
(815) 986-0220

Woodman's Store # 33
2100 Randall Road
Carpentersville, IL 60110
(847) 649-9005

Woodman's Store # 35
151 Hansen Boulevard
North Aurora, IL 60542
(630) 723-3900
http://www.woodmans-food.com/

Rene G wrote:For years, the Jewel at Clark & Division has carried Dave's Insanity and a handful of other ultrahigh-Scoville sauces at fairly reasonable prices. I wonder if the manager of this particular store is a hot sauce fan.

About a month ago I got some particularly peppy fresh Scotch bonnet chilies at La Fruteria. Like Old World Market mentioned above, this Afro-Caribbean store carries a nice selection of hot sauces. You might want to check out the jarred Liberian pepper paste (made with habaneros and smoked herring) and the selection of Ghanaian shito (made with cayenne pepper and dried shrimp). These items are not shelved with most of the other hot sauces.

I second the Jewel on Clark recommendation. Also, Target on Elston has that nuclear-green El Yucateca Habanero sauce, as well as your typical Cholula, etc.

Thanks for all the great suggestions folks.

I ended up finding dried Jolikias at The Spice House in Geneva. I ground up a few & mixed them in with a bottle of Blair's After Death Sauce (has a great taste, perfect for wings) I found at World Market in St. Charles. It's now sitting there simmering, waiting to be splashed all over some wings tonight. Although I keep peeking just to make sure the glass doesn't melt !

I'm sure you've probably all heard of The Spice House, if not it's pretty nice & they have a few stores around the Chicago area.
http://www.thespicehouse.com/

I stopped by to grab some Jolokia & ended up dropping $50 on spices including the $11.50 for a 4oz bag of the peppers. I could have spent all day there tasting the samples and smelling the smells. It's a nice shop.

So after tonight, I'll have achieved my latest goal, conquering the world's hottest pepper. Tomorrow I'll cool my innards with some nice butternut squash soup.

I think next up is taking my first stab at risotto & it looks like this place has a bunch of info on that.

shaunvis wrote:I ended up finding dried Jolikias at The Spice House in Geneva. I ground up a few & mixed them in with a bottle of Blair's After Death Sauce (has a great taste, perfect for wings)

You added dried jolokia's to Blair's After Death? You Are Crazy!

As you appear insane, you may wish to try The Bread, a seriously over the top recipe that has been going around Chile Head lists for at least a decade. You can sub dried jolokia for habanero if you dare. I made this once, the habanero version, with a borrowed bread machine, it was way over the top, blasted me to next Tuesday, a nightmare on toast, actually, a toasted nightmare. My neighbor tasted heat through the next 5 bread baking sessions.

The Bread
Jim Campbell

This recipe is for one of those automatic bread machines- I ain't
smart enough to know how to cook bread otherwise.

1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1.5 cups white flour
(all wheat may be used, but not all white- the Savina (tm) seems
to go good with wheat breads while white has too little flavor
for it IMHO)

1/2 cup V8 or similar veggie juice
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
1.5 tbls evaporated dried milk
1.5 tbls brown sugar
1 tbls honey or sorgham
1.5 tsp fast rise auto bread yeast (2 tsp normal yeast)
2 tbls butter

2 ounces (or more/less) ground dried Red Savina (tm) Habanero

Heat liquid ingredients to about 100 F. Pour into cannister. Put in
dry ingredients, yeast last. Set machine to desired finish. Done.

I'll leave it to individuals to try and figure out how to adapt this to
their own style of breadmaking. Like I said, this is for one of those
auto bread machines simply because I don't know how to bake bread
otherwise. If it ain't easy, I ain't got time to do it. I'm sure
there are lots of different herb combinations that could be used as
well. Hope you all have fun with this!

- -Jim Campbell
Mild to Wild Pepper & Herb Co.

Wow! Thanks for this! I'm going to make some tonight.

If you want your own bread machine btw, I picked up my Zojirushi at Mitsuwa in Arlington Heights for around $150. I thought it was a misprint or typo, because this thing is usually around $200 but it was still that price a few months ago. I'm assuming it's the regular price there.

shaunvis wrote:Wow! Thanks for this! I'm going to make some tonight.

With jolokia's? It is hot as hell with habanero, jolokia's..................

I am not a spice wimp, but The Bread..... well, you will see for yourself.

Well, I didn't use anywhere near 2oz of them. I ground up 5 of them.

My niece's boyfriend dared tell me my Phall wasn't that hot last week, so that's what started all of this. So now I'm gonna show him what hot is!

Wings were great! Hot but delicious. Blair's has a great flavor, it was the first time I've had it.

I'm starting to think that Jolokia's are either not that hot or we just don't get hot ones in the US. I bought 3 fresh ones off ebay & ate those down without too much fuss. These dried ones seemed about the same.

Heaven on Seven in Naperville is up on my agenda too. Their menu looks great from what I saw when I stopped there looking for sauces.

Hi All--

Linghams, which is a Malaysian hot sauce, was one of the picks in this year's Saveur 100. Has anyone seen it around Chicago? It has a distinctive yellow label:

http://rasamalaysia.com/linghams-hot-sauce-saveur-100/

I am headed to Devon tomorrow to stock up on my current favorite sauce, Marie Sharp's Mild Habanero (with the green label). I may also check out the Old World Market.

Jen

edited to correct name of market

Pie-love wrote: I am headed to Devon tomorrow to stock up on my current favorite sauce, Marie Sharp's Mild Habanero (with the green label). I may also check out the Old World Market.

I was in three groceries in the last week or so, Viet Hoa, Golden Pacific and Fresh Farms, Niles, one of which had an extensive selection of Marie Sharps. It wasn't Viet Hoa, might have been Fresh Farms, but I think it was Golden Pacific.

If you are going to Old World Market it is but a couple of blocks to Golden Pacific to check.

Enjoy,
Gary

Golden Pacific Market
5353 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640
773-334-6688

Fresh Farms
5740 W Touhy Ave
Niles, IL 60714
847-779-7343

Viet Hoa Plaza
1051 W Argyle St
Chicago, IL 60640
773-334-1028

Old World Market
5129 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL
312-989-4440