I am not sure I will ever understand this phenomenon and those that I have spoken to about it agree as well.
I get the love for hot chicken and I’m asked about it all the time when people come to town and want to know where to go and I tell them all the same thing, you cannot go wrong at any restaurant that serves it.
This is the part that gets me. I have friends that when they go to a hot chicken place tell the waiter, “Give me the hottest that you have!” That is fine but oftentimes it is much hotter than they ever anticipated. Much hotter.
I sit back and watch them go and after about three or four bites it hits them. It hits them hard. They start gagging or drinking water and coughing and it is quite the spectacle. Then they say, when they come up for air while still gagging, “Boy, that was hot!”
Why? Seriously, why? I thought, at least I did, that eating food was supposed to be enjoyable and pleasant. I never thought it was supposed to be a physical gut-wrenching experience as if you just ran a marathon. To see someone in this much pain from eating, is truly a sight to behold.
I have heard from others who have friends that are this same way. They order the hottest chicken, eat part of it, start sweating profusely and look as if they are Arnold Schwarzenegger from the last scene of Total Recall. Eyes bulging out, face enflamed and one step away from death’s door.
They say they will never do it again but the next time out, they repeat the same scene with the exact same result. Yet I still ask why? Why be in that much pain just to eat? Is there some award or medal you receive for eating something that makes you that miserable and complain? I should have won that award with my grandmother’s cooking.
So when you are at your favorite hot chicken restaurant and your friend asks the waiter to “give me the hottest you have,” let them indulge and watch the show.
Also, at some point and do me a favor and ask them one simple question. Why?
