Spice-C

Opened at The District at Tustin Legacy in 2021 – during the height of local and national interest in Nashville Hot Chicken – Spice-C arrived so fully committed to the idea of selling insanely hot, pepper-dusted chicken tenders that the only real options were levels of pain. The hottest version, Reaper, came with a liability waiver. Five levels below it ranged from nothing to extra hot, which most people would consider to be painful to eat.

Even as fans of super-spicy foods and Nashville Hot seasonings, a lunch or dinner at Spice-C was simultaneously filling and unpleasant, as every bite was like taking another step up a mountain – a game of endurance, as the dry hot pepper didn’t have any depth of flavor. Want something to cool off? Find another restaurant serving something creamy as a salve, perhaps neighboring Dolce Gelato. Two Spice-C tenders with pickles and a slice of bread was the sort of meal adventurous diners might try mostly to check something off a list, then probably never return again, which wasn’t a great business model for a restaurant.