AMARILLO, Texas – In the panhandle of our great state, burgers are serious business. Over at Coyote Bluff Café, a small shack on the southeast side of Amarillo, there’s a monstrous creation that might just be too much for your mouth – the Burger from Hell.
John Paul Pacheco’s step dad Rob Haas created this frightening fiery food a few years back.
“It’s one of our top sellers and for anybody that enjoys some spice in their life,” said Pacheco. “The past 20 years it seems like we’ve become a small icon in Amarillo, I guess.”
Housed in a former dance hall brought in from down the road in Claude, Coyote Bluff is 1000 square feet of tight space with 12 tables that is constantly crazy. The brave few come here to experience the devil in all of us with the burger from h-e-double hockey sticks!
“Use fresh, sautéed jalapenos and have our own special house blend of hot sauce, and mix those two together and a little bit of Tabasco and give you something your taste buds will enjoy,” Pacheco said. “Or hate you for.”
We met up with Benton Hicks, also a step son to Rob, to see what exactly made this burger so scary. We start things off with an 80/20 chunk of beef topped with Worcester sauce and seasoning salt.
Then our helper Justin gets things started on the onion bun. Onions and some of the freshest and feistiest jalapenos we’ve ever experience hit the grill next, and that’s when the capsaicin crusade got under way.
The Burger from Hell already starts striking down non-believers in beef with one strong smell.
Lettuce and tomatoes get placed on the bun while the burger finishes up with a blazing build up, starting with jalapenos and yes, it definitely clears the nostrils. Then comes the Hell Sauce.
“It’s a little bit more flavorful and less burning than the jalapenos themselves,” said Hicks.
Cheddar cheese closes out this combustible creation, and it’s time to take a bite. If we kick the bucket today, hopefully we’re in heaven for five minutes before the devil knows we’re dead – because he’ll be coming for his burger.
Like waiting on a monster to pop out of nowhere, we anxiously awaited some awful heat. Fortunately this fire breathing behemoth was a little tamer than we thought.
A burger with a name like that, you’d expect the worst. But, we actually think this one’s got wings and a halo – because it’s darn heavenly.
It’s a really good burger with a really, really daunting name – but don’t let the Burger from Hell scare you, it’s well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List!