Spicy Food Strategy

It is very important to get the ice cream *before* you eat the spicy food. If you wait until your mouth is on fire it is too late.

Despite the fact that I've lived in Arizona for 13 years, I haven't developed a tolerance for spicy food.  That is a problem here, as Sichuan food is notoriously spicy.  But Liu Liu showed me a strategy for approaching spicy food:  get ice cream first, and also order a side of dumplings.  Yes, I was suprrised when the ice cream she wanted to get was a good old fashioned DQ blizzard.  The dishes you see were chicken (in the middle) and two kinds of bean jelly noodles, that were all very tasty but very spicy.  I had to go back and forth between the spicy dishes and the ice cream.  The doughy dumplings also served to dull the heat, and were probably my favorite part of the meal.  I do like my bread after all. 

Maybe when I get home I will now be able to tackle New Mexico chile dishes ... as long as I stop at DQ first.