At Hot Box, spicy-food lovers get to sample 85 varieties of their favorite poison. Hot sauce heat-levels run the gamut from pleasantly piquant to fire-breathing dragon. The store’s owners, Kobe Cuigiya, Andrew Freeley, and Greg Jurksztowicz, fill their library with hot sauces from across Asia, the U.S., and even Russia, and you can sample each one with a handful of tortilla chips. Hungry? Order the cheddar grilled cheese with mapo (Sichuan hot sauce), and enjoy it with the shop’s special Bloody Mary: Hainan chili sauce, gochujang (Korean chili paste), jalapeño, and smoked sriracha. Bottles are reasonably priced, with most under about $6.
