Way Hot

A cafe and restaurant with live music, Highland Grounds offers several types of coffee drinks and more than a dozen teas. But the liquid that’s got everybody excited here comes out of bottles on the counter: hot sauces, and lots of them.

Regular customer Rusty Andrews, a composer for film and television, was the impetus of the influx of fiery potions. A firm believer that these sauces heat the libido as well as the food, Andrews initially brought his own bottle of the peppery stuff to splash on his morning eggs. Over time, he convinced partner Richard Brenner to start stocking it. Brenner says he began with the basics--Tabasco’s red and green bottles--and soon began exploring more exotic culinary territory.

The selection usually numbers about a dozen and varies from week to week, depending on what Brenner can find from sources like Light My Fire, a Santa Monica store that stocks up to 500 varieties. Most of these sauces come from the South, but Highland Grounds has had bottles from Hawaii, Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico and Japan.

For those who like it hot, Highland Grounds’ veritable hot sauce bar features a revolving selection of bottles of various intensities, with names like Scorned Woman, Global Warming, Ring of Fire and Hot Sauce From Hell. While many are based on the jalapeno, smokier sauces rely on the chipotle, and the hottest of all use the habanero or Scotch bonnet pepper.

All go well with chef Arnoldo Barriento’s eclectic cuisine, from huevos rancheros and assorted omelets to chilaquiles and rice and vegetable. The hottest dish on the menu--sans sauce--is the Cajun chicken sandwich. Only the brave--or taste impaired--need add sauce to this one.

One caution: when the label says hot, believe it. Some of these sauces, like Total Insanity, are of Mace-level intensity.