Dear Editor,

First of all, let me pay tribute to WingazetteÒ  Magazine founder Hal Turner for putting WingazetteÒ Magazine on the web and allowing all faithful followers to share their wing eating experiences and to stay in touch with avid wing eaters and race fans worldwide. We're very thankful and "We're not worthy!!"

Now, the Wing General had the opportunity to travel to Mexico recently to continue the exhaustive search of finding the "ultimate" hot wings, a project which began years ago when WingazetteÒ Magazine founder Hal Turner began his quest to find the absolute best hot wings available. Much research has been conducted in the United States, and now these studies have gone global.

Needless to say, it was an interesting experience. Of the four places that offered hot wings in Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel, only one location was worthy of mention. The place...La Placita in Playa Del Carmen.

The Wing General will not forget February 22, 2000. The day started out innocently enough, with the Wing General getting up early in great anticipation of finding the "ultimate" hot wings. However, while dreaming about those palate pleasers, the Wing General forgot about how strong the rays of sun could be, and before you knew it, his flesh was as crimson as Bobby Knight's (aka The General...no relation to the Wing General) face during the recent Indiana - Ohio State game in which the Hoosiers came out on the short end. Nobody said the research was going to be easy... and the Wing General was not going to let a little third degree sunburn get in the way of his research. After three previous attempts with no wing success, the sunburn only served as motivation for finding the "ultimate" hot wings.

As the Wing General walked down 5th Street with his Indiana cap covering his sunburned face, he noticed a menu from the La Placita restaurant on display...it listed hot wings as a menu item with the caption, "a bigger rush than parasailing". The Wing General had found the place to conduct his next study. To his delight, the restaurant also had a television with international satellite, so the Wing General could conduct his research while watching the Indiana - Illinois basketball game.

The Wing General took a seat at the bar and ordered a cold beverage and the hot wings. About two minutes later, the chef came out and asked the Wing General if he was sure he wanted the hot wings. He assured the chef that was what he wanted and the chef replied with a grin on his face that rivals the famous grin of Hal E Peno, except with a touch of evil in his eye. He stared at the Wing General for a moment and said "For you Amigo, I prepare a special sauce just for you. I call it Yucutan Rush"...very hot and spicy." The Wing General said "bring it on." He was not going to be intimidated by any Mexican chef...and knew the potential dangers associated with conducting this type of research.

The wings arrived about 15 minutes before game time. The wings were brought out on a plate with the reddish-orange sauce completely covering each wing. The waiter reached in the cooler and brought out another cold beverage and looked the Wing General in the eye and said, "Here, you'll need this." He began to laugh out loud. The chef then came over to the Wing General's plate with a lighter and actually lit the sauce on fire...with bluish-orange flames spouting from the sauce creating an eerie glow to the wings. The chef and the waiter stepped back, looked at the Wing General with sly grins on both their faces and said in unison, "Enjoy."

The Wing General's eyes were so wide after seeing this display...but he could not let them see the terror he was feeling inside. He took the first bite and immediately felt the numbing pain of the heat from the sauce. He also noticed a strong flavor of habanero pepper sauce along with other "secret" ingredients as the chef called them. The chef and waiter saw the Wing General's reaction as he bit into the first wing and began to chuckle. The chef apologized for the sauce being so hot and said that he must have gotten caught up in the "heat" of the moment. With this, both the waiter and chef let out a barrel laugh and left the Wing General to suffer through the remainder of his research. Not since ordering the "Blazin’" wings from BW3 in Bloomington, Indiana had the Wing General felt so much heat and robust flavor from a sauce. After consuming a number of cold beverages and 3 liters of water, his research was complete just in time for the tipoff of the basketball game.

Just as the sting from the sauce had begun to subside, the sting of watching the Hoosiers fall behind by 14 points began to set in. When they got down by 20, the Wing General got up and kicked the empty bar stool next to him so hard that it fell onto an empty table nearby. The waiter saw the incident and immediately went into the back area of the restaurant. The Wing General began to think that he was going to be ejected from the restaurant just as he thought the General was going to get tossed from the game. In a moment, the waiter came out with a cold beverage and said "Here, drink this. Looks like you and Bobby Knight are both having a tough day."

After the game was over, the Wing General was exhausted from his research and the game, and retired back to his room for the evening. As he began to doze off into Wing Wonderland, he thought about his next research project, and a smile projected from his face as he knew his next venture was just hours away.

Home       Wingazette® Today        News