Food, part Deux

You know what I am having a hell of a time finding here in Lyon? A good hot sauce. Really!

I mean, is it too much to ask to have a little heat in your food? Sure, I know that the French have refined palates, and that they prefer their food to be on the creamy, fatty side with gentle overtones of soothing flavor. But this is supposed to be the gastronomical capital of France. WHERE'S MY HOT SAUCE!?!

Don't get me wrong. Just about every grocery store has red Tabasco (some even have the milder green blend), so at least there is that. But here is the thing about Tabasco: It is like a light beer, Miller Lite for example. It's passable and good for when you got nothing better around, but you can have as much of it as you want and it still won't screw you up. Tabasco is safe. Tabasco is for the masses.

Thus far, I have only been able to find two (2!!!) other hot sauces. The first that I found (even before I found Tabasco, which is usually in a completely different section), is Louisiana Hot Sauce, and that's only the Original flavor. This one is OK. It has mild heat, but little to no flavor.

Next I found Grace Hot Pepper Sauce, a Product of Jamaica. This one is a bit hotter (the label lies and says "very hot/tres piquant") but, still, no flavor.

Of course, their are also Asian pepper sauces you can find at any Asian store, but they are different, you know? Their favor doesn't really lend itself to meals like tacos and other southern foods as much as they work well with eastern cuisines.

I don't know if there is no market for hot sauces here, or if they only import hot, yet unflavored hot sauces because the French only want "Hot" sauces.

Verily, woe is me...

Oh, and I got a call from my new employer, and they moved up my start date from February 11th to next Tuesday. Woohoo!