(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

It's like The Expendables of spicy food contests: the third chapter of Spiceavore is upon us, and ten contestants are coming out of retirement to consume ungodly amounts of spicy food, yet again. It is time for Nuclear #Spiceawar, and you are welcomed to witness the spectacle!

When: Saturday, February 8th, 2:30pm.

Where: Saranac, downtown.

What: Four rounds of crazy spicy foods, leading up to a finale where the ultimate Spiceawarrior will be crowned.

And what's in it for you, other than witnessing grown women and men doing something incredibly stupid? We'll have food for you to sample! Menu specials! Beer specials! Vendors! Exclamation marks!

Plenty of vendors and restaurants will be providing food and goods this time around, including, but not limited to, names like Santé, Dave's Gourmet, Monterey, Fireball, Brain Freeze, DOMA, Big Sky, Fremont, Volstead Act, Beet It Up, and of course Saranac. And that's just the tip of the list!

Once again we'll be supporting a charity, which once again will be a local cystic fibrosis clinic. 

I mean, really, can you think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon? Of course you can't!

So consider this a «mark your calendar» type of post. A lot more information -- and vendors -- will be revealed over the next couple of weeks.

For now: Plan on February 8th to be a Nuclear #Spiceawar type of Saturday!

The Northside might not yet be a beacon of culinary delights, but signs of a turning tide are starting to show. A proper pizza place, for example, was needed -- particularly after Bennidito's closed its doors -- and newly opened Boiler Room has taken a good step toward covering that particular niche.

This is not a bad spot at all; it is, in fact, downright good. In some ways, calling it a Fire for the South Hill would be an apt way to describe it, be it the decor or be it the food.

The similarities in the interior, in particular, is not coincidental, seeing both spots were designed by HDG. They still have their distinct looks, mind you, but HDG's fingerprints can clearly be seen throughout both spots, and that's not a bad thing.

The style of the pies, meanwhile, land somewhere between Fire and Flying Goat. Think the more flatbread-y style of Fire, with Flying Goat's char, and you have a general picture of what to expect. That, again, is not a bad thing.

What does set Boiler Room apart from the aforementioned spots, is the variety of pies. With this being the last planning meeting for Nuclear #Spiceawar -- more about that tomorrow -- we gave the Fireball a try, a pizza that actually lived up to its name. Many places claim to have spicy pies, but few succeed to reach the level we saw here at Boiler Room.

And it wasn't like you couldn't taste the other flavors either. The nuances of the crust were clearly there, as were those of the cheese and meat. Luckily, too, nothing was overly oily or greasy, just nice, clean flavors shining through.

The Rosemary Chicken, too, followed suit, with a slightly smokey tinge to the chicken.

Bonus points for having a spicy Thai pizza that had its own distinct flavors, without feeling like a copycat of Fireball. All in all, a good trio of pizzas.

In fact, all the three pies felt refreshingly different, not only from each other, but also from what you find at other spots around town. And yes, that goes for their Thai too.

So, is Boiler Room worth the trip for those who live outside of the Northside hemisphere? I'd say so, though probably not at a regular basis. There are some good pies here, though the beer list is sadly lacking.

I wouldn't go as far as to say this is the best pizza spot in town. Veraci, South Perry, and Flying Goat are better. But Boiler Room holds its own. It's the best pizza place up north, and one that should be checked out and vetted by you all.

That's something I consider good praise.

Honestly, I find Taco Bell to be the most fascinating fast-food company -- let's not call it «restaurant» -- out there. Here's a chain that has gone through pretty much any popular Mexican dish, which leaves them with precious few options for menu-renewals. So where is there to go from there?

The answer: the Grilled Stuft Nacho.

Now, let's be frank about this: calling the Grilled Stuft Nacho «new» is kind of a hyperbole. What we have here is a tortilla, stuffed with what the US court system declared to be meat, alongside Taco Bell's (probably) patented Velveeta concoction.

The result is, as you might imagine, pretty much on par with anything from Taco Bell.

More interestingly -- and this is where the fascination comes back into play -- is how Taco Bell is marketing this thing. I mean, they really are trying, there is no doubt about that.

For example: Did you know Taco Bell pairs its dishes with drinks? I kid you not, and one can only assume they brought in a sommelier to nail these pairings. For the Grilled Stuft Nacho, for example, you are advised to go with a Mtn Dew® Baja Blast™ Freeze.

Sounds delicious to me.

That is not the end of it, however. Taco Bell has figured out what the kids like, and if there's something the kids do religiously -- alongside the Social Media Rockstars -- it's using «hashtags». For whatever reason, Taco Bell's tag of choice is «#doingstuff».

Exactly what you'd be doing while eating a Grilled Stuft Nacho is beyond me, unless, of course, throwing it in the garbage counts. (Judging by their website, some like to sit in a box while eating it, which… It takes all kinds.)

Taco Bell: Tasty, classy, and hip.

And I'm not going to stop trying these Taco Bell... things... They just keep getting worse. It takes true talent to do something like that.

Should the Grilled Stuft Nacho exist? No, but then again, nor should Taco Bell, really.

Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, we get some odd packages here at SpoCOOL Towers. How these companies find us is anybody's guess, but hey… We're not above taking what we can get.

The other day, a package containing a bottle of sriracha sauce from Needzo showed up in our mail room. Not being familiar with Needzo, we did some investigating and was somewhat surprised of what we found. That's right: Needzo specializes in religious gifts. How they got into the hot sauce racket is somewhat of a mystery. Bizarre.

And like many of these random freebies we see, there were some strings attached…

Needzo apparently does not want people talking smack about their products.

Of course, I'm less than certain this is a legal requirement, and seeing we don't hand out stars… Well, I think we're pretty much in the clear as far as stating our opinion goes.

So, how does the Dark Star sauce fare, then? Despite promises of an almost unheard of spiciness, I really can't say I noticed much difference from the standard Huy Fong rooster sauce.

Really, I'm not entirely sure I could have told them apart in a blind tasting -- the only real difference I noticed was Dark Star's slightly more ketchup-y flavor.

I would probably have given it a three star -- unsatisfactory -- rating, had that been something I did. As I don't, though, I can with an easy heart and sound mind say there's little reason to go with Dark Star over Huy Fong. Or vice versa. They're both fine. Pick up whichever one is cheaper.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it!