Who makes Charlotte’s spiciest food? How childhood Cheetos led to this moment
I didn’t know it at the time, but the countless bags of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos I demolished as a kid were preparing me for a far more important assignment: finding Charlotte’s spiciest food.
I came across a Reddit thread a few weeks ago where Charlotte residents were debating the spiciest food in the city.
“I’ve heard Curry Gate goes hard,” one person commented.
“Ugh I love this place. Best Indian food in the city,” someone replied.
I’d never been to Curry Gate, but I learned its curry spice scale ranges from 1 (no spice) to 10 (fire).
“Yeah I love spicy af s*** and I never order above a 6 there,” another commenter wrote.
Challenge accepted.
A pungent past
I’ve always loved spicy food.
My earliest memory of eating it is stopping at convenience stores on family road trips to Asheville or Myrtle Beach, grabbing a bag of Hot Cheetos and devouring it in the car before slipping into a food coma.
Since then, I’ve developed an affinity for Takis — rolled tortilla chips known for their intense flavor and crunch — and I douse just about anything in Texas Pete whenever it’s available.
I’ve only had food that was too spicy once.
In high school, a friend brought Carolina Reaper hot sauce to campus.
The Carolina Reaper, developed by Ed Currie of PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, once held the Guinness World Records title as the world’s hottest pepper. (That title now belongs to Pepper X, also created by Currie.)
For context, jalapenos typically measure between 2,500 and 8,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), the standard scale for measuring a pepper’s heat. Carolina Reapers can top 2.2 million SHU.
Dipping one of my cafeteria chicken nuggets into that sauce turned out to be one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made.
Within seconds, my mouth and throat felt like they were on fire. Then came the watery eyes, runny nose and heavy sweating. I started stealing cartons of milk from my friends’ lunch trays, but nothing helped. The pain lingered for hours.
Needless to say, I was a little hesitant to try Curry Gate after remembering all that.
Fiery fare
Turns out, I had nothing to worry about.
I arrived at Curry Gate II on South Boulevard shortly after it opened and ordered the chicken curry at spice level 10.
It definitely had some heat. The spice lingered for a few seconds after each bite, but it wasn’t anywhere close to the Carolina Reaper. And that wasn’t a bad thing. It was delicious.
I worked my way through a couple of plates of curry over rice, scooping up every last bite with pieces of chili garlic naan while Bollywood music videos played on the TV in front of me.
By the end of the meal, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was this really one of the spiciest dishes in Charlotte? It packed plenty of flavor, but I didn’t think it was all that spicy. So why were so many Redditors recommending it?
Zesty stereotypes
There are stereotypes about pretty much everything, including spicy food.
The prevailing stereotype is that people of color can tolerate spicy food better than white people, and data show the majority of Reddit users are white.
But there’s no scientific evidence that supports that theory. So what are the factors that influence spicy food tolerance?
The biggest factor is simple: practice. A 2023 study found that repeated exposure is one of the strongest predictors of a person’s preference for — and tolerance of — spicy foods.
In other words, the more often you eat spicy food, the less intense the burning sensation can feel over time. Researchers say that’s because your nervous system gradually adapts to capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their heat.
Culture also plays a major role. People who grow up in households or regions where spicy food is part of everyday life are more likely to develop a higher tolerance because they’ve been eating it from a young age, studies show. The same review found that childhood exposure is one of the strongest predictors of spicy food preferences later in life.
Researchers have also found that people in hotter parts of the world often eat spicier foods, but they don’t think it’s just because of the climate. Instead, they say it’s likely a mix of cultural traditions, generations of eating spicy food and, historically, using spices to help preserve food before refrigeration.
Searching for spice
I was thankful that my 8-year-old self had the foresight to devour all those bags of Hot Cheetos.
But I was a little disappointed. The food at Curry Gate was delicious, but I was expecting a little more of a challenge on the heat scale. PoppyCox and Pho Hoa were among the other places mentioned in that Reddit thread, so I’ll have to give them a try.
I’m sure I’ll regret saying this, but if you have suggestions for the spiciest foods in Charlotte, send them my way at emoore@charlotteobserver.com.
I might just put my taste buds through another round of punishment.
