I come to you today a defeated man with an upset tummy.
A brief bit of background, I’d like to think I have some experience in the spice world. I have been a hot sauce connoisseur all my adult life. Sampling different styles and varieties, with a proclivity for fruity infusions. I’ve conquered the "Showdown" pulled pork sandwich at Cactus Bob’s BBQ Corral. So I walked into Dave’s Hot Chicken today thinking the "Reaper" tender was just going to be another slightly uncomfortable bump in the road.
I was wrong
I wasn't prepared for was the spice delivery system. It was a thick, gritty, paste. So, for your amusement, I present the saga of my failure.
Reaper Tender Progression:
- 0–50%: Pure, unadulterated hubris. I managed to get halfway through before my survival instincts overrode my pride and I lunged for the milk
- 50–80%: I was shaking. That "paste" meant every crevice of my throat was coated with fire. Cue a more consistent stream of milk.
- The 80%: I gave in. I couldn't go any further. I couldn't stop panting and each time I looked down at that tender I thought the previous bits would make an appearance.
I have to hand it to Dave’s, usually, "fast casual" spice levels are a joke, but this Reaper is the real deal. It didn’t just burn; it hurts.
References:
- Randy Santel: Cactus Bob Challenge
by LittleEzz
25 Comments
DAVE’S amirite guys?!
Since when did Dave’s have a challenge?
They just opened one up near me. I can handle spice pretty well. It’s the first time in a long time that I caught a slight buzz from the heat. Felt soooo good.
If it has reaper in the name, I’m not fucking with it. I’ve had food with reapers in it and it’s pure pain, no pleasure.
r/HailCorporate
The people who whine on these posts are super pathetic full stop. It’s literally a super spicy thing you can get at a restaurant.
Meanwhile these same people suck down corporate hot sauces like El Yucateco (which tastes like tires) and tell us all how much they love them. Fuck off. Let people enjoy shit.
I come to you, a karma farming AI post
I’ve had it twice from the same location. First time, I ate it with little trouble. A little sweating and uncomfortable mouth burn but nothing beyond what is normal for hotter foods and spices.
The second time the first bite made my eyes pop, and my mouth burn and head drip with sweat and stomach pains. I couldn’t get through the whole thing and was in a bad spot the rest of the day.
This sub is full of people with varying experiences.
Try it again sometime if you’re feeling frisky!
I’ve probably had about 3 of the reaper sandwichs, and my whole body is twisting, and I’m drooling thinking about it, 10/10 would stupidly do again.
There’s no way someone who survived a spice challenge of any kind had any trouble with Dave’s. Even the mildest spice challenge is massively hotter than Dave’s.
I’m pretty sure it’s just called the reaper, not challenge in the title
Sir, it’s not a challenge, either in name or difficulty
You merely vastly overrated your spice tolerance
I had it, my asshole paid the price
Yeah man very hot. I didn’t think it would be either but sheesh. I took one big bite and was like wow not bad at all. 2 minutes later mouth on fire panicking as I had nothing to drink
I tried Dave’s for the first time Friday in Davenport, and had no idea there was one opening in Ankeny. Drove by today to try it, but it looked too busy.
Had it in TN.
I thought it was hot but not unbearable. I give it 7/10 in heat. Absolutely not hot enough to warrant a waiver if you’re a hot head, but yes if you’re not.
I had this last year in Denver before catching a flight back home. I was a bit disappointed because I was expecting it to be hotter but hearing how inconsistent everyone’s experiences are, I’m thankful I didn’t get a mega hot one that would’ve had me shitting myself in the airport or on the plane lol
Damn that Randy Santel video is going deep in the archives haha.
Anything where I need to sign a waiver is where I draw my line in the sand. At this point in my life, I don’t want to fight my food. I like some heat, but not just in the pursuit of hot, I also want it to have a nice flavor. When you raise the heat level too high you lose any flavor it might have and the heat and pain is all that’s left. That’s not what I’m looking for.
There are plenty of extremely hot and spicy sauces that have tremendous depth of flavor and add to whatever you put them on. There’s no need to try and smother yourself in spice and heat just try to be cool. Eat food because it tastes good, not because it’s a personal challenge.
If only the Dave’s reaper tasted like anything other than salt. I’d be a regular if it didn’t taste like shit 😭
First time I went, I was sweating but I finished the whole sandwich no problem.
Then I heard that it depends on the location or cook, so I went to two different locations and asked them to really lay it on and still had the same experience.
Get the extra pickles: they really cool off the heat if you hit a wall, but I really don’t understand the hype.
Basilisk in Portland serves way hotter and way better tasting chicken if y’all are in the area.
Same dude! That thing had my piss burning for 2 days. Never again
Chat GPT ass post.
Do they always come out and look at you like they’re gettin ready to paddle a naughty schoolboy at Cactus Bob’s or did you set that up?
Can we stop with the Dave’s posts already? Even if OP wasn’t paid to post this, it’s viral marketing and we all know about that place. For fucks sake, find something new 🙄