Another amazing year at the NYC Hot Sauce Expo. Lots of new vendors this year, lots of new stuff to try. I always try to go “new for me” when buying at the expo.
Thanks Steve! For another amazing expo!!!
Hell’s Kitchen is always great. Ron is just an awesome dude, who’s smile reminds you that food feels like home, and you wanna eat a meal with this dude. His sauces are great, and new this year was his spicy bread and butter pickles.
Hip Hop Hype sauce was a freebie from Smokin’ Ed.
Big Red…holy shit. All of their sauces had such incredible flavor. Was tempted to buy the lot, but ended up just getting 3. On the drive home, I was thinking about the Big Yella and french fries…. so that was dinner.
Mastodon was really unique. Really strong flavor profile and the heat doesn’t take you out. The Grapefruit Habanero was really interesting. A lot of citrus sauces have a bitter bite, and what’s more bitter than grapefruit…but there’s no bitterness. It really compliments itself.
A colleague bought me Gindo’s Vampire Slayer a few years ago, and this was the first time I finally got to meet him. HOLY SHIT. This dude is not only a wonderful chef?/cook?/saucier? but prolific! He comes out with a new flavor every week, and is always trying to stay as fresh as his sauces taste. This was a real highlight of the day.
Savory Baba was all fruit-forward sauces. Nothing crazy hot, but nice flavors all around. My wife liked this one.
Morning Pine Acres had a lot of really great sauces, and their Hedo Jamaican jerk sauce was great. Bought several a gifts for people I think would love them. Also, their apple butter (no heat) was probably the best apple butter I’ve ever had.
Whoa Doggie was another newbie that knocked us out of the park. Great sauces, great salsas. In a richer world, I would have bought them all.
Harmacy I have heard of but never saw. I don’t know if I’d call these sauces….they’re more like dips, or pastes? Like a runny hummus? But wow, hearty texture, full flavor that lingers — not just the heat, but the flavor just stays. They will become a household staple!
Mama Lam’s are in a similar vein as Harmacy…not really a hot sauce, but a seasoning sauce. Very rich, full flavors. Savory and hot. I can’t wait to grill with these.
Some noteworthies that we ended up not getting:
– Jim E Jive is amazing. Great dude, amazing sauces. I bought all of his sauces last year, and just needed to make room for new stuff this year.
– Jack’s Pepper Heist: their Pepita Scorpion had a really great consistency to it because of the pumpkin seeds. Really good flavor. It’s worth trying.
– Craic: they changed their logo and I didn’t realize it was them until I tried their fiddlehead sauce. They have a Sun Gold sauce, that comes in a basic tomato sauce and also a hot sauce. It’s absolutely delicious.
– Not Joe Mama’s: their Old Bay was incredibly tasty. If I was in the mindset of bbq sauces, I would have picked it up in a second.
– OCF: Really good simple sauces. They’re very comfortable, very enjoyable. Their Igniter and Smoked Datil were really good, and I was really impressed by their Spooky Pumpkin (an actually spice pumpkin hot sauce) and their Viking Funeral was a fun ride.
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Another amazing year at the NYC Hot Sauce Expo. Lots of new vendors this year, lots of new stuff to try. I always try to go “new for me” when buying at the expo.
Thanks Steve! For another amazing expo!!!
Hell’s Kitchen is always great. Ron is just an awesome dude, who’s smile reminds you that food feels like home, and you wanna eat a meal with this dude. His sauces are great, and new this year was his spicy bread and butter pickles.
Hip Hop Hype sauce was a freebie from Smokin’ Ed.
Big Red…holy shit. All of their sauces had such incredible flavor. Was tempted to buy the lot, but ended up just getting 3. On the drive home, I was thinking about the Big Yella and french fries…. so that was dinner.
Mastodon was really unique. Really strong flavor profile and the heat doesn’t take you out. The Grapefruit Habanero was really interesting. A lot of citrus sauces have a bitter bite, and what’s more bitter than grapefruit…but there’s no bitterness. It really compliments itself.
A colleague bought me Gindo’s Vampire Slayer a few years ago, and this was the first time I finally got to meet him. HOLY SHIT. This dude is not only a wonderful chef?/cook?/saucier? but prolific! He comes out with a new flavor every week, and is always trying to stay as fresh as his sauces taste. This was a real highlight of the day.
Savory Baba was all fruit-forward sauces. Nothing crazy hot, but nice flavors all around. My wife liked this one.
Morning Pine Acres had a lot of really great sauces, and their Hedo Jamaican jerk sauce was great. Bought several a gifts for people I think would love them. Also, their apple butter (no heat) was probably the best apple butter I’ve ever had.
Whoa Doggie was another newbie that knocked us out of the park. Great sauces, great salsas. In a richer world, I would have bought them all.
Harmacy I have heard of but never saw. I don’t know if I’d call these sauces….they’re more like dips, or pastes? Like a runny hummus? But wow, hearty texture, full flavor that lingers — not just the heat, but the flavor just stays. They will become a household staple!
Mama Lam’s are in a similar vein as Harmacy…not really a hot sauce, but a seasoning sauce. Very rich, full flavors. Savory and hot. I can’t wait to grill with these.
Some noteworthies that we ended up not getting:
– Jim E Jive is amazing. Great dude, amazing sauces. I bought all of his sauces last year, and just needed to make room for new stuff this year.
– Jack’s Pepper Heist: their Pepita Scorpion had a really great consistency to it because of the pumpkin seeds. Really good flavor. It’s worth trying.
– Craic: they changed their logo and I didn’t realize it was them until I tried their fiddlehead sauce. They have a Sun Gold sauce, that comes in a basic tomato sauce and also a hot sauce. It’s absolutely delicious.
– Not Joe Mama’s: their Old Bay was incredibly tasty. If I was in the mindset of bbq sauces, I would have picked it up in a second.
– OCF: Really good simple sauces. They’re very comfortable, very enjoyable. Their Igniter and Smoked Datil were really good, and I was really impressed by their Spooky Pumpkin (an actually spice pumpkin hot sauce) and their Viking Funeral was a fun ride.