Mar 8, 2008 8:27 am US/Central
Wings So Hot, They Require A Waiver
Jake Melnick's Corner Tap, 41 E. Superior St.
(312) 867-4908
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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The wings at Jake Melnick's on Superior Street, featuring the extract of the super-hot savina pepper.
CBS
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, but if you love it, head on over to a Gold Coast restaurant where the wings are alarmingly hot.
In this edition of Table for 2, CBS 2's Vince Gerasole is "winging" it with a hot proposition at Jake Melnick's Corner Tap – where the wings are so hot and spicy that customers must sign a waiver warning of the intense reaction.
"I thought my tongue was going to explode," said Laura Johnston of the city's North Side.
"The lips go numb and the sinuses start to water," said Joe Popa of Chicago.
The blazing basket of heat is served up at Jake Melnick's Corner Tap on Superior Street, where the wings are getting a new kick from one of the world's hottest peppers – the fiery red savina.
Chef Robin Rosenberg says they're 75 times hotter than a jalapeno.
Rosenberg ordered the
über-pepper online from India, but what arrived a few days later was a U.S. Department of Agriculture notice asking him to verify he was a bona fide chef with no terrorist intentions. It gave rise to some burning questions.
"Is this thing that really hot?" Rosenberg said. "Am I going to hurt someone?"
For about $50, Rosenberg eventually received a vial of red savina extract, the juice of the pepper.
It is so red and hot that it is now kept under lock and key. The recommended dose is one drop for 12 gallons of sauce.
"I was making two quarts of sauce, so I put two drops in – kaboom!" Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg's recipe calls for tossing the deep-fried chicken wings into a tasty mix that also includes tomato sauce, orange juice, and 50 pureed habanero peppers.
"I wanted to create it with flavor, not just hot where it kills you," Rosenberg said.
The wings are always prepared with a heat-reducing dish of ice cream, sour cream, milk and orange segments, served when patrons ring a bell for emergency assistance.
Naturally, Vince gave it a try. At the start, he said he wouldn't lick one of the wings like an ice cream cone, but he liked it. But in a matter of moment, things began to heat up. Sweat was pouring from his forehead and his eyes were watering.
If you have a craving for the hottest and the spiciest, you can check out the wings yourself at Jake Melnick's. They're at 41 E. Superior St.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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