The Capsaicin Chronicles (Pt. 3): Eat A Pie of Fire and Fry (Mikey's Late Nite Slice)

'Twas the bringer of death, fiery death...

It's not every day when you put in an order at a restaurant where your server looks at you with deep concern and asks, "Are you sure?"

It's even more of a rarity when you're asked to sign a waiver before the restaurant prepares your order for you. But that was the case for my spouse when she put in a recent order at Columbus' beloved Mikey's Late Night Slice.

Mikey's Late Night Slice has seen numerous iterations throughout
its six-year history in Columbus, with its latest outlet opening on
4th Street in southern reaches of downtown

Started in July of 2009 mainly due to an "common man" concern noted by owner Mike Sorboro (a noticeable lack of a place to buy pizza-by-the-slice within the area), Mikey's Late Night Slice has become a prominent presence on the Columbus culinary landscape, sporting three current locations, a fleet of mobile trucks and several stands within corporate and music-oriented facilities.

Starting with my first slice (bought at their "Shack" location next to the Oddfellows Bar in the Short North) I learned pretty early on that Mikey's offers up what I like to call "common man's pizza". It's not necessarily the best pie around, nor is it really gourmet in any way, but it provides a fairly inexpensive way of satisfying your pizza cravings (especially as you get into the more wee hours of the evening) and in Mikey's case, they do it with a bit of a fun, slightly irreverent edge. This is perhaps best typified by "Pizzaface", their rough-hewn logo that appears at many of their special events as well as merchandise, as well as their notoriously-named most popular dipping sauce (Mikey's has changed the name from that what-some-consider offensive term to an unpronounceable symbol, borrowing a page from the R&B artist Prince. In terms of California experiences, Mikey's reminds me of places like Blondie's in Berkeley and Emeryville's Rotten City Pizza in terms of same general vibe and same general level of pizza.

It makes total sense, of course, that a place like Mikey's would occasionally come out with a pizza with an edge to it. in the form of  "Fiery Death and Hate Sausage," available for a very limited time each year and the cause of the server's quizzical response and the reason for the signed waiver.

A closeup of this capsaicin-loaded monster, prepared with the help
the local master of all things spicy in Westerville's CaJohns

In collaboration with the local kings of spicy preparation in Westerville's CaJohns Fiery Foods, this pie's potent combination of ghost and scorpion peppers was enhanced by the addition of the Carolina Reaper pepper, rated as the world's hottest pepper. The pungency of this terrorizing trifecta of peppers was bludgeoningly noticeable when we pulled our slices from their paper sleeves. With two other slices of "normal" Mikey's styles also on hand, we debated as we poured a glass of beer to enjoy with our pie: do we get the heat out of the way first or last?

There really only was answer. We both grabbed our Fiery Death slices and went for the gusto.

The first bite actually wasn't bad at all, with the combo of cheese and pepper flavor rapping out a joyful dance on our taste buds. Then we took the next bite, and all hell broke loose. The omnipresent spice finally unleashed its full fury, putting our mouths aflame and releasing a ring of sweat on our brows. The capsaicin also induced an annoying but thankfully brief round of hiccups for me and gave my spouse a bit of a red mark on the skin just outside her mouth.

At this point, the challenge to finish the slice was as much mental as it was physical, but we both figured out pretty quickly that found that the intense spike of heat had pretty much plateaued into a constant burn that we could handle just fine. The little hunks of so-called Hate Sausage (spicy but nowhere close to what the peppers had in store) and the crust provided brief respites from the constant burn, and we proceeded to devour this igneous tasty triangle to the last crumb.

With that said, we were quite happy to get a cool down with split slices of Mikey's regular sausage and mushroom styles. As we chomped down on these, we thought about the event that this eatery would be putting on later in the week, where contestants had to down three of these fiery beasts as well as an entire Carolina Reaper pepper and pondered whether we could ever compete and complete that particularly brutal challenge.

Interestingly, we thought it was the volume of food that would be the bigger hurdle than the heat content within the food items consumed. And we realized then and there that by thinking that way, we both had become freaks of nature to an extent. Also, we knew that another slice of the Fiery Death would be on the docket for next year.

Mikey's Late Night Slice
268 South 4th St (Downtown)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 737-3801

1030 N. High Street (Short North)
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 737-3488

15 East Duncan St (Clintonville)
Columbus, OH 43202
(614) 262-0680
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The Capsaicin Chronicles (Pt. 2): Hotter Than Hell-oween (Double Comfort's 2nd Annual Spicy Food Challenge)

The sign was no joke for those folks who returned for Double
Comfort's Second Annual Helloween spicy food challenge

As noted in our first of this series of blog posts, my spouse and I share a mutual love of hot and spicy food. One thing we were curious about as we made more explorations into this world was a simple thought: how far was our ability to take the heat progressing?  After vague notions of seeking out some sort of food challenge, a prime opportunity dropped in our lap last year when we learned about a special event then-newcomer to the Columbus food scene, Double Comfort, had put out for Halloween.

Dubbed the "Helloween" challenge, diners who dared take it on were treated to Chef Dan Varga's spicy takes on multiple dishes. As detailed on this previous blog post, we found the food was all ultimately delicious and, save for the truly tongue-roasting etoufee, well within our tolerances that we had built up at the time. Many like us who participated in last year's challenge were successful in claiming that victor's T-shirt, and we got word from the staff that should there be a return of the challenge, the heat would most likely be amped up in the chosen dishes.

In the year since that challenge, we knew from our continued exploration of all things spicy that our capsaicin handling abilities had grown quite a bit. Would the second edition of Double Comfort's Helloween food challenge, held the day before Halloween, raise the ante as well? We were quite eager to find out.

Like last year's event, Double Comfort's staff were appropriately decked out with various Halloween costumes and a festive spirit was in the air as we took our seats for our second go-around.  Event flyers sporting the names of the big boys in the chili pepper world (Trinidad, Ghost, Carolina Reapers and 7-Pots) seemed to warn (scare away?) prospective challenge-seekers that the kitchen wasn't messing around this year.

Whereas last year's menu was a full seven-course meal, challenge-takers this year were given a menu of seven small plates items (there were actually two different desserts in the pie and ice cream.) Diners could choose any three of the dishes, and those who finished them off would receive this year's version of the champion's T-shirt. However, those who failed would be subject to last year's treatment: an ice pop and a fair amount of friendly taunting from the restaurant staff.

 

We decided to go with standard meal structure and ordered what seemed to be an appetizer, a main and a dessert. It was apparent pretty early on as my spouse dove into her Ghostly Fried Pickles (while the ranch sauce was delicious, we purposely did not use to dip except for that initial tasting to keep with the spirit of the challenge) and I my Freaky, Fiery Sweet Potato Fritters (marvelously redolent habanero and Trinidad pepper smells wafting into our noses) that, indeed, the folks at Double Comfort weren't fooling around, with a layer of sweat forming quickly on our foreheads. Still, this was well within our new tolerance levels, which gave us a chance to secretly wish these items were on their menu at least on a every-now-and-again basis.

I got a bit of a break with my main in the Satan's Ribs (Bacon Ribs coated with a super spicy rub blend) in that these marvelously delicious ribs were also quite juicy and fatty, dulling the sting just a bit. The side of Jalapeno Slaw that came with the plate also provided a limited bit of relief from the now constant burn. My spouse, on the other hand, was smacked upside her mouth big time by the combo Chicken from Hell and Mac N Cheese (crisped up in a waffle iron(!)) laced with Ghost Pepper. For the briefest of moments, my spouse had a doubt about this might be too much heat to handle, but she buckled down and got through this dish.

The desserts were no slouch in the heat department either: the Chocolate Cayenne Ice Cream was noticeably more mouth warming than last year's edition, while the Hotter Than Hell Pumpkin Pie combined spicy hot with traditional pumpkin pie spices in a very tasty package. But again, compared with the dishes before, this closing part of our meals played the role of mental victory laps at this point of our meal.

As we awaited this year's edition of the T-shirts given to challenge winners, my spouse and I got to muse on the dinner just past. Yes, we were pretty happy to how far we had progressed in terms of our ability to handle the heat, but we were especially satisfied with just how tasty all the preparations were. Upping the heat did not downgrade the delectable nature of these well-prepared dishes (we actually wouldn't mind seeing a spicier rendition of some of  Double Comfort's regular items as an option on regular day visits.) Couple the great food with this restaurant's continuing mission to fight hunger by giving proceeds to local food pantries, and you have what constitutes a gem of a restaurant.

We look forward both to our next meal at Double Comfort and (fingers crossed) a chance at a third edition of this spicy challenge next year.

Double Comfort Restaurant
505 N. High Street (Downtown)
Columbus, OH  43215
(614) 745-2183
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