response 1 of 67:

Mar 22 08:21 UTC 2002

Depends on where in the 'midwest' you go.  I know of 'snot running out
yer nose sweat pouring down yer back ringburner' hot dishes served at
'alley' restaurants in chinatown.  And I know of 'szechuan' restaurant
in mississippi river town that owner describes food as "well, it is
better than hamburgers" - a 'hot' dish has a little black pepper in it.
While it is true that the equatorial areas seem to have hotter food
there very well may be a simple and practical reason for it.  The
'chili' grows better there, prior the refridgeration the meat spoiled
faster, and capsaicinoids have a number of beneficial effects not the
least of which is as a preservative.  My 'fave' hot sauce is cholula but
judging from the number of different hot sauces in the kitchen it would
be hard to imagine there was a singular.  It runs the range from the
traditional Tabasco(R) to indonesian, thai, indian, afghan, paki,
carribean, belize, korean to fermented hand ground chinese suspendedin
chili oil...  
Powder - ranges from white pepper to various varieties of hungarian
paprika...  During cooking or after depends on what I am cooking.  The
contents of a microwaved scrambled-egg-sausage-potato patty 'tv dinner'
doused with cholula and wrapped in malaysian onion-flat-bread makes a
nice,cheap, and quick 'breakfast burrito'.