Is it just me, or is it a bit chilly out there? All of my plans are getting canceled one by one, like dominoes, because it’s simply too cold to leave the house (to be clear, on nights like these you have my full permission to bail on outings and commit yourself to dinner on the couch). But if you do gather the bravery to face the outdoors, you’ll want a destination dish that will thaw the numbing cold. Sure, there’s food that’s hot in temperature (might I interest you in some of New York’s finest soups?), but you could also warm up on a deeper level with spicy food that’ll make a D.I.Y. furnace in your gut.
I’m an impartial spice appreciator, and have nothing against dishes that are blisteringly spicy for shock value, but these aren’t the dishes that are so challengingly hot you’ll get your Polaroid tacked to the wall if you finish them. They’re just great bites of food that happen to be warming enough to make you feel something. Doesn’t that sound nice right about now?
Hot chicken, served cold
At the chic and intimate restaurant Tolo in Chinatown, the “mouthwatering” spicy chicken is served cold, but it’s the spiciest dish on the menu, and one of the best. It’s a shallow bowl of tender chicken, poached in warming spices like star anise, clove and Sichuan peppercorn, pulled off the bone and swimming in brick-red chile oil, the whole deal showered in chopped cilantro and cashews. On a frigid night, it’s ideal over steamed rice, accompanied by a glass from the impressive wine list put together by the team from the wine bar Parcelle.
A slice with spice three ways
Scarr’s Pizza, which made our list of the 25 best pizzerias in New York last year, can’t seem to expand enough — there’s still an omnipresent line outside of their newer, bigger location on Orchard Street. Once you make it inside, the best way to get the chill off is a slice of the Hotboi pie, topped with three sources of heat: Spicy beef pepperoni, sliced jalapeños and a drizzle of Mike’s extra hot honey.
Duck larb that brings the heat
Balance is at the core of Northern Thai Isan cuisine — when the dishes get spicy, they also get bright, acidic and tart. The larb ped udon at Zaab Zaab in Elmhurst, Queens (a Pete Wells favorite), and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is an exemplar. Minced duck breast, laced with liver, charred galangal and crispy bits of duck skin, is. offered at three different levels of heatFresh mint and culantro add brightness and bitterness for balance, and the duck arrives with a lush basket of lettuce and herbs for assembling compulsive bite after bite.
