We were sent this article from News-Leader.com out of Springfield, MO about a restaurant review about Carlos O’Kelly’s and their hottest dish, the burro en fuego.

At first, it was a pretty decent review about how hot it was…which got our attention. In it, the writer says:

The best way to make sure the burro en fuego lives up to its name is to request that it be prepared extra spicy, he advises. This visit’s rendition was good, he says.

I looked for an online description of this so-called spicy burro, and I found it:

Burro en Fuego
Spanish for “Burro on Fire!” Ay-e-e Carumba! The hottest item on the menu. A Burrito made with Shredded Beef lit up with our Atomic Salsa, sliced jalapeños, onions, and red enchilada sauce. There’s sour cream on the side to help cool things down. Served with rice and beans.

Being the fans of Mexican Ior some semblance thereof) food that we are, it sounded intriguing. The notion that it was somehow the hottest due to sliced jalapenos and an unknown salsa was a tough one to accept, especially after having our attempts to get any restaurant to make something extra-spicy…particularly a chain like Carlos O’Kelly’s. Reading further, we found this:

Hospitality manager Tara Guydos says the burro en fuego is indeed the spiciest item on the menu. The atomic salsa used in the dish is the same salsa the kitchen uses to increase the heat of the restaurant’s standard salsa, she explains.

So apparently a little nuclear (er, atomic that is) salsa is all it takes. If anyone out there has ever been to Carlos O’Kelly’s and tried this dish, leave a comment. I’d like to know what the salsa is, and whether or not it’s something we would have heard of before now. Until then, the closest place to find this out is at least one state away.

And one more note…I’d like to read a restaurant review about spicy food by an actual chilehead. Reading stuff from the palates of those with pansy tastebuds for heat can be nothing if not an exercise in abject frustration.