CAMBRIDGE, MA (CNN) — Are you unimpressed by jalapenos? Does Tabasco sauce leave you yawning? Even the toughest tongues will be tested by a fiery food served up this week in New England.
An ambulance parks in front of a Cambridge restaurant just in case a customer is in need of help. One person says, “He seemed to be okay, you know, he came back, and he went to pay for parking and he lost consciousness.”
Overcome by what East Coast Grill is serving. This is hell week; the time of year when they whip up the spiciest pasta plate in the world.
Owner Chris Schlesinger created the pasta plate known as Pasta Plate From hell. He says, “All the people that like spicy food and hot food consider themselves to be gunslingers a little bit, so they — they come looking for trouble.”
Oh, and they find it, like Cameron Butts from the Coast Guard. And one woman who took a bite, saying it was no big deal, and then the spices kicked in. She quickly reached for the milk. She even asked the bartender for the antidote.
To chants of “wimp”, the antidote is brought over on a plate. It’s an orange popsicle.
So what makes it so hot? The secret ingredient is the naga pepper. This is one of the hottest peppers on the planet. You should probably have gloves just to handle it.
At first, it’s fine, but when you tear it open and just take a sniff, it makes you want to cough and you start tearing up right away. It is a culinary challenge that even the cable show Man Versus Food tried. It didn’t go so well. Schlesinger says, “He (the host) had two or three bites and he put his head in the ice machine.”
And as for our Coast Guard friend, he loves the flavor of the dish. He says, “It tastes good at first. Great flavor. Now, I don’t taste anything.”
At last check, just nine diners successfully stomached a “Pasta Plate from Hell”. Restaurant owner Chris Schlesinger jokes there are no fatalities so far.