Switched today from my regular tiny lunchtime bottle of Tabasco Sauce to the new Tabasco Brand Garlic Pepper Sauce. A month or so ago, I wrote a veritable ode to Tabasco here, only to have my browser crash before I had the chance to publish it. Ouch. But my love for the hot vinegary sauce from Avery Island, Louisiana is unabated, so much so that when my office stash threatens to run out, I start to panic. If my food doesn't at least tingle my gums, I'm not quite satisfied - like the Spaniards said of the Aztecs, who even spiked their chocolate drink with chile peppers, "Without chile, they do not believe that they are eating." Now Tabasco is a great-all purpose sauce, as are its variants (among them Green Jalepeno Sauce, the above-mentioned Garlic Pepper Sauce, and even a Habanero Sauce I've yet to sample) sold by the McIlhenny Company, but this isn't to say that I'm not also partial to the competition out there. And there's a lot of hot sauciers these days to choose from. Inner Beauty Hot Hot Sauce, created by East Coast Grill owner/chef Chris Schlesinger, is another favorite of mine, a tropical blend of fiery habaneros, mustard, and fruit juices that turns a plain old hot dog into an atomic treat. One of my favorite Fenway Park pushcart vendors always had generous squirt bottles of this sauce alongside the ketchup and mustard for the more adventurous baseball fans - I wonder if he's still in business and dishing out the heat, now that Red Sox management has staked off Yawkey Way for its own personal profitmongering? I used to also love a unnecessarily incendiary sauce called Capital Punishment, which was best used by the eyedropperful, lest you render your meal inedible.

And yet to my tastebuds, Tabasco still reigns supreme. Perhaps it's that vinegary tang to it, or the fact that it blends seamlessly with a good bowl of clam chowder (good for those frigid New England months just around the corner!), but like the Aztecs, I shake at least a little bit into practically any food I can get away with. Thank goodness the wife shares my love for spicy foods! Now if only I can convince her to go to Avery Island for our next vacation...

btw, the Garlic Pepper Sauce is tasty!