Today, I’m here to share a recent encounter with the infamous yellow peppers (aka “cascabella”) at In-N-Out. Now, let me preface this by saying that I love a good kick of spice as much as the next person. So, when I saw those bright yellow peppers sitting innocently on the side bar next to the ketchup, I couldn’t resist a friend’s challenge of popping one into my mouth.
The first pepper went down without a hitch. It delivered the perfect blend of tanginess and heat, leaving me craving more. And that’s where the trouble began. I made the fatal mistake of indulging in not one, but two peppers.
As I bit into the second pepper, I immediately felt the intense heat spreading across my tongue. But that wasn’t the worst part. You see, spice has a funny way of causing mucus buildup, and my throat was already feeling a bit congested from the first pepper.
With each chew of the second pepper, it felt like my throat was closing in on itself. The spicy hotness seemed to get stuck, refusing to go down no matter how hard I tried. I reached for my Diet Coke, hoping to wash it down, but to no avail.
My face turned beet red, and my heart rate skyrocketed as panic set in. I excused myself from the table and made a mad dash for the bathroom, desperately searching for relief. Thankfully, the sink was open, and I wasted no time in guzzling down water, gargling, and swishing it around in a desperate attempt to soothe the fiery inferno raging in my mouth + throat.
Eventually, I did manage to regain control, clear my throat and calm my racing heart. But let me tell you, that experience was rough enough to make me think twice before reaching for those yellow peppers again.
