Pepper Palace

Such a HUGE variety of hot sauces to choose from. This is a spicy-lover’s dream come true. As soon as you walk in, you’ll see a large portion of hot sauces lined up, waiting to be sampled. The guy that works there was really helpful. Dare to try one of the hottest of the hottest? Ask about it and you could get a sample of it.
My favorite ended up being the cinnamon & Apple since I have a sweet and sour palate. Prices aren’t too bad. I got a 16 oz bottle for about $ 9.

Are you a lover of all things crazy hot and spicy? Are you addicted to the burn? A heat junkie? A hot-​head? Do you live for giving your Tuesday poker night chili enough heat to knock your socks of… and then taking it to the next level? Do you like your wings so hot that when you lick the sauce off of your shaking fingers it burns your tongue?
I can honestly say «yes» to all of these things (although maybe replace poker night chilli with Magic: The Gathering night chilli… more my style lol). That’s why when the wife and I were out on a boring shopping run at the Mall of America, I knew a visit to the Pepper Palace on the third floor would be just the break I needed to spice this trip up. After all: us guys need to have a little fun too! And with an entire section of the store dedicated to FREE SAMPLES, it was a no-​brainer. ;)
They call it the Pepper Palace, but they might as well call it the Pepper Kingdom. From the lowly jalapeño serfs and the sundry Serrano pepper soldiers to the princely habanero nobility, sauces of all types are represented… and I intended to eat my way up to the top of the flaming throne– to the Royal Ghost Pepper itself!
While working up a burn in the habanero section of the sample bar to prepare for the Ghost Pepper Challenge (the clerk was off printing a waiver for me to sign), I took the chance to browse the thousands of sauce varieties available. So. Much. Sauce. I think I found stocking stuffers for everybody on my Christmas list. I spied a neon green bottle called the «Nuclear Zombie Apocalypse» (because the verde sauce looked like green sludge), a piece called Dr. Picante’s Absolute Heat Explosion Formula (because it was shaped like an Erlenmeyer Flask and covered in chemical formulas) and also an unassuming mason jar with a simple label called Cowboy Jack’s Kick Ass Body Blast (because it gives you bathroom problems).
Well the clerk came back with the waiver and I was already entering a level two stage of spicy euphoria. My tongue was numb and I was beginning to belch up pure fiery goodness. I could feel my goatee moisten with sweat (for some reason the bottom of my face is where I perspire the most) and I happily signed the form which absolved the Pepper Palace of any heat related mishaps. I took one bite into the ghost pepper sauce, and folks I have just gotta say: this is the peak burn I’ve been looking for. For the next few moment I couldn’t hear even the wife complain about how «we’ve been here too long» or that «her feet hurt» and how «all these weird dudes hanging around here smell awful» and that «I look like some pathetic red-​faced baby.» It was just me and the heat. I was faint-​headed for the rest of the day and couch ridden day after. If you want to enter a Kingdom of Heat and sit atop the Spicy Throne then the Pepper Palace is the place for you.

Free taste test!!! It’s not just hot sauce tasting but bbq, marinades, queso and salsa dip. They even have chips for the queso and salsa, woo. I was clearly one happy visitor and aside from the ones on the counter theres plenty more to purchase. The gentleman was very helpful and patient with me wanting to try it all, very appreciated.
I bought garlic parmesan wing sauce… just because that was my craving at the moment and regret not buying more.
Enjoy the amazing kick in the mouth and get your picture on their tv by trying the hottest sauce they have ;)

This was my favorite shop at the Mall of America and really, the only store worth visiting (although, I found out later there’s one closer to home in Schaumburg, IL) The staff was really nice and let you try as many different sauces as you wanted. We ended up buying the 10,000 Lakes Hot Sauce for $ 7.95. We used it on pulled pork and it was divine. The selection is vast and I probably could have bought a lot more, but I didn’t want to have to carry around a bunch of bottles all day.
Don’t forget to check this place out before leaving the MOA for a unique souvenir or gift!

This place has soooo many sauces, salsas, dips and all kinds of things. Maybe you just need to stop here to carry something with you when going to the mother-​in-​laws for dinner to spice up bland food. They have a lot of taste test items out to try so you are sure to spend your money on something that you like!