8 Dishes That Bring The Heat in NYC
Grab a gallon of milk, a bag of tortilla chips and maybe even a fire extinguisher, because we’re highlighting you eight spicy dishes that bring the heat like August in NYC. These will have you sweating like a marathon runner in a chili pepper costume. But fear not, because the long term benefits are worth it. According to a 2015 study by Harvard and China’s CDC, the consumption of spicy foods is inversely related to mortality rates. So remember as the beads of sweat drip down your face and your lips begin to pulse, that spicy food you just ate is giving you life!
This article is just a small taste of the dishes that Bring The Heat on 8it. Hit the green button at the bottom of this article to explore the 8it app.
Aguachile Verde
The King of Fish // Sunset Park
📸: Gabriel Enciso (via Google Maps)
The King of Fish is known for super fresh seafood, the most important ingredient in an aguachile- a Mexican shrimp dish inundated in spicy liquid made from a blend of peppers, lime juice and herbs. It’s like a distinctly spicy, green shrimp ceviche. Since it’s served cold, a juxtaposition of sweat-inducing spice and cool refreshment makes this dish a nearly hypnotic eating experience as you wipe the sweat from your face before feeling goosebumps down your arms shortly after slurping up a bite.
This dish is recommended by: Eater
Jerk Chicken
Fisherman’s Cove // Brooklyn
📸: @fishermanscovenyc
One of the most important distinctions of jerk, one of the spiciest styles of chicken, is its char. The scotch bonnet pepper-based paste it’s marinated in blackens the outside of various chicken parts as the skin crisps up beneath, providing the most satisfying crunch into waves of spicy flavor. Fisherman’s Cove has mastered that char, creating a crunchy exterior enveloping a harmonious marriage of spicy and sweet flavors.
This dish is recommended by: The Infatuation
Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles
Xian Famous Foods // Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn
📸: @gspotfoodie
One of the most important utilities of spicy food is its mysterious ability to clear you out and make breathing easier. So if you’re ever feeling a little stuffy, take a sick day and head to Xian Famous Foods. Within minutes, a bowl of these noodles sitting in a bath of nose-tingling chili oil will power wash your nose like a suburban dad on a Saturday. With twelve locations across Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, the good news is, you probably don’t live far from a location.
This dish is recommended by: Thrillist
Spicy Beef Soup
Super Taste // Chinatown
Yet another spicy noodle dish with high potential to alleviate a cold, Super Taste’s Spicy Beef Soup has such healing qualities that they are nearly medicinal. Hold your nose over it and your nostrils expand, allowing you to take deeper breaths. Smell the sour, spicy aromatic broth and slurp up clusters of noodles dotted with chilis. Repeat this process until your bowl is empty and you’ll feel invincible.
This dish is recommended by: The Infatuation, 8it NY
Piri Piri Chicken
Cervo’s // Lower East Side
📸: @cervosnyc
One of the greatest outcomes of Portuguese maritime exploration is piri piri, the pepper produced by Portuguese explorers in its former Southern African territories. Thanks to them, we can enjoy the bright, bold, tongue-numbing spiciness of piri piri chicken at Portuguese restaurants like Cervo’s. The long, thin peppers are blended into a paste with garlic and oil, marinating the chicken until its cooked to maximum juiciness.
This dish is recommended by: 8it NY
Chili Cauliflower
Rowdy Rooster // East Village
📸: @eatfoodieeat_
Unapologetic Food Group, Rowdy Rooster’s owner, is true to their name in that they’re notoriously unapologetic about spiciness. This inferno of vegetarian delight is in the same spice bracket as some of the most fiery curries at Dhamaka, Rowdy Rooster’s sister restaurant and one of the most popular Indian spots in NYC. A sauce made from fresh and dried chilis laminates each floret in a slightly sweet coating spicy enough that you’ll feel like you’re breathing fire.
This dish is recommended by: NY Times
Diablo Pie
Macoletta // Astoria
📸: @macolettaastoria
The great thing about spicy pizza is its built-in spice suppressors. Acidic foods and carbs are known to quell the burn of spicy foods, so sauce, cheese and crust all play a role in saving you from tears if you find yourself in a battle with the calabrian chilis and spicy salami of the Diablo pizza at Macoletta. While that double punch of spicy ingredients forms a slippery slope, its accompaniments are like ski poles that bring you safely to the base of the flavor mountain of this dish.
This dish is recommended by: Timeout
Laksa
Native Noodles // Washington Heights
📸: @vxdollface
The broth-less laksa at Native Noodles instead concentrates its spicy qualities into a yellow coconut curry where rice noodles swim with fish cakes, shrimp and vegetables. Laksa paste, which is stirred into the curry is usually made from long red chilis and spices like coriander, paprika, cumin and turmeric. Ginger is the ingredient that hammers home the spiciness with a lasting bite.
This dish is recommended by: Gothamist
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