Alice Jones
Food Columnist
I don’t even like chicken wings, but Hot Sauce and Panko on Clement Street and 17th Avenue has changed my opinion.The menu offers a variety of astounding flavors and incredible seasonings that make gnawing on a chicken bone worthwhile.
If I had to choose one of my favorites, Chris’s Honey Salty Crispy Pepper is some kind of wonderful. The crispy outside is sweet as can be with a pepper twang that will get you licking sweet oils off your fingers and wishing you had gotten the larger size.
Be forewarned about the Ghost Pepper Crunch wings. The lingering spice causes immense tongue pain that manifests itself and stays burning on your lips like a evil spicy spirit. Repeat: These wings are dangerously hot!
The KFC is not the fast food chicken from the Colonel. Korean Fried Chicken wings are coated in a sticky red layer of the house Gochujang sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The coating has a hot almost sriracha taste yet is a mild enough spice to refrain from panting.
The Lime-flavored wings are a must-try. Coated in a mixture of caramelized fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and roasted chilies, these wings come with enough juice at the bottom of the box that you’ll want to dip everything in. Each juicy wing has a semi-crunchy shell peppered with mild chilli flakes covering the thick, succulent meat.
Portions are sized regular for $6.49 (seven or eight pieces) and large for $9.49 (11 or 12). Ordering several regulars is perfect for large groups and for getting the most variety for the price.
Hot Sauce and Panko also offers delicious thick-cut, smoothly-battered onion rings, shoestring fries and buttermilk waffles alongside any of their 12-wing options. The large, fluffy, buttery and creamy waffle is heavenly to munch on between each wing and comes with the option of butter and whipped cream.
The adventurous must indulge in the Ultra Goliath Waffle Sandwich which is filling while being a sensational collaboration of flavors. The sandwich is two pieces of boneless chicken kara-age (breaded chicken strips) stuffed between a squishy waffle. The mixture of the sweet cabbage, sriracha caramel sauce and zesty kewpie mayo makes every bite a perfect one.
The restaurant’s small size, large kitchen, and a wall of over 100 different varieties of hot sauce for sale only leaves room for two indoor and two outdoor tables.The walls are adorned with quirky pictures, hot sauce warning signs and tiny action figures.
The menu changes frequently, adding new flavors to your Hot Sauce and Panko bucket list. Updates are available on Instagram @HotSauceandPanko.
Hot Sauce and Panko 1545 Clement St. Open Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday noon to 6:30 p.m., Friday noon to 7 p.m., Sunday noon to 5:30 p.m.
