Comments on: Brick Lane Curry House: After the Phaal

By: Jason Roth

Jason Roth — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:48:12 +0000

“no beverages, yogurt, or rice” Ok, now you’re just showing off.

I think they had to run next door and ask their competition for more raita when I was there.

By: Jacqueline

Jacqueline — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 05:21:42 +0000

Nothing happened to me. Finished in eight and a half minutes, using no beverages, yogurt, or rice. No next-day repercussions. Ate it after Easter dinner, too, and am a normal 140-pound white girl. Ah, well.

By: Jason Roth

Jason Roth — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:38:44 +0000

Alyssa, I like your write-up, too. (And your bucket list.) All I can say is that Tommy is damn lucky he didn’t put sauce in his eyes when he put his hands over them!

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:03:07 +0000

Enjoyed your recap. I survived the challenge, too!

http://www.alyssaarminio.com/ttt-man-and-woman-vs-food/

By: Jason Roth

Jason Roth — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:44:12 +0000

Yes – that was the challenge that I did, at the Cluck U that used to be in Newark, Delaware. The hotness plateaued midway through the wings. And you’re right, it’s not exactly “enjoyable” in the traditional sense of the term. It’s “fun” in the way the last mile of a marathon might be. The sauce they used was a habanero extract-based sauce, which I generally consider to be sauces that “cheat”. (For those who don’t know about them, these sauces, such as Dave’s Temporary Insanity Sauce, basically filter down the hottest part of the hot peppers and use the concentrate as a main ingredient in their sauce. As if a regular, old habanero pepper isn’t hot enough.)

By: Geoff

Geoff — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:32:09 +0000

I watched a friend try the 911 Challenge at a Cluck U in NJ, and their focus (Cluck U’s focus, I mean) really was more on the sadism than on any possible enjoyment of spicy food. It wasn’t too far from “We DARE you to drink this industrial grill cleaner! (And no washing it down with water, either!)”

By: Jason Roth

Jason Roth — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:25:54 +0000

Must have been a mango lassi. I ate plenty of naan bread. Brick Lane is actually kind in this regard. In some of these challenges, like one for spicy chicken wings I did in Delaware, they don’t let you eat or drink anything else. In the one in Delaware, I actually had to wait ten or fifteen minutes after eating the wings before I was “allowed” to drink anything!

By: Geoff

Geoff — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 02:35:53 +0000

Watching Food Network’s “Chefs Vs. City,” one of the challenges they just had to do was eat a bowl of Phaal at this very establishment. It sure as hell didn’t look easy (and they washed down every mouthful with some high-fat frozen mango beverage whose name I didn’t catch). Congratulations on your accomplishment and certificate!

By: Jason Roth

Jason Roth — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:35:12 +0000

Photo of official “Phaal Curry Monster” certificate added.

By: Jason Roth

Jason Roth — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:14:55 +0000

Here's a Wall Street Journal article about the Brick Lane phaal craze.