Somebody Stop Me--My Mouth is on Fire!!

I have a funny little story for you dear blog readers, and goodness knows it's time for something funny in this blog. :)

Yesterday I went to lunch with a group of my co-workers to try the brand new location of the Red Iguana that just opened a few weeks ago. For anyone who doesn't know, the Red Iguana provides traditional Mexican cuisine that is quite delicious. They are well known for their mole which is a type of sauce. Last time we went, I know I tried all the different types of mole, but that was more than two years ago, so I couldn't remember what I had ordered or how it tasted.

I looked through the menu trying to find something that sounded like it would suit me (and fit within my price range). I selected the item, told the waiter and enjoyed some quality chips and salsa while I was waiting. When our lunch came, the waiter started calling the item names and handing them out to everyone. I was surprised at the looks I got from almost everyone at the table when he brought my dish, Enchiladas Amarillos. I heard over and over again how brave I was for trying that particular menu item. In fact, my team leader said, "Tammy, that's what I ate when I was trying to make my baby come."

You can imagine just how reassured I was by those words.

Boy howdy those were some spicy enchiladas! Don't get me wrong--they were delicious but they had quite a kick to them, such a strong kick, in fact, that I felt like I was going to breathe fire any second. I warned Smirk, who was sitting next to me, to watch out if I had to belch because fire might come out instead. I drank quite a bit of water, but as I well knew it didn't put out the blaze, just spread it around. I enjoyed my meal as much as I could with the strong spices kicking around my mouth.

My mouth continued to burn after I returned to work for almost an hour and a half!! Wow! That's all I can say. I considered going to get a $1 ice cream cone from McDonald's because I was pretty certain that would put out the fire, but I didn't get the chance before my 2 p.m. team meeting. Once it was over, my mouth was okay. I was quite concerned with my somewhat sensitive stomach that I was going to have heartburn like fire from Hades, but it was much milder than I had expected.

So here's a caveat to any of you trying cocina from Red Iguana: watch out for the Enchiladas Amarillos. They're good, but you'd better be prepared for the wallop they pack from the spices in them. Or plan to order milk so your innards don't burn up.