Awesome Hot Sauce

It was time to buy souvenir gifts for the family, and once the boyfriend spotted the sign, we had to go in. He and his family are some serious spice addicts. I kid you not… Every family meal I’ve ever joined, his dad and brothers would add serious amounts of spice. Of course the dishes are already good to start with, so they just like that additional heat. With that said, I’m just as ecstatic as the boyfriend that we finally found spice with good flavors as a change of pace.
The entire time we were there, one of the owners (Rebecca) was extremely helpful and informative. She had him start off with a sample of the Original, then the Venom for a comparison. He was certainly feeling a kick from the samples, and still liked the flavors behind them. LOL. I do have to apologize to her for my boyfriend asking her a few of the same questions. Lack of sleep from being tourists! Thanks for humoring him though.
She sent us off with 3 – 4 bottles of hot sauce, and she was nice enough to pack the bottles for my boyfriend’s family, which are going to be shipped to Minneapolis ASAP for enjoyment.

I’m usually not comfortable giving low stars but the guy working here is horrendously rude. It’s not even a place to eat, it’s a hot sauce store. Customer Service matters in this instance.
I went in and grabbed a sample cup of water and the guy spouted some nonsense about asking first instead of helping myself… He was helping some customers at that point but needed to stop and reprimand me for getting a sample cup of water. It’s a water station for heavens sake. Why have it face out towards your customers if we’re gonna have to ask permission from the person behind the counter!
Anyways, totally did not know about the other complaints regarding the same guy. I’m glad I’m not the only one who had dealings with that donkey.

Buyers Beware, Store Owner is a Major Jerk
I came in a few weeks ago to purchase a gift for my husband. We are hot sauce fanatics and I’m always looking to add to our collection. When I went in I asked the guy how his night was breaking the awkward silence, as he was already ignoring me. To which he replied «awesome» I laughed and said «they pay to to say that don’t they» in a completely joking manner. Apparently this dude did not find that funny. I puttered around and asked him a few questions about his sauces he then let me taste one. I then asked to sample another sauce and threw away my tasting spoon. He audibly made an annoyed sound and something about not throwing it away under his breath. Isn’t this a sanitary issue? Shouldn’t we have a new spoon with each taste? Please dude. I should have walked out at this point but as I said I was really looking to buy a few products. I asked him to tell me about a few other sauces he then said «I’m not going to give you a dissertation on every sauce» and tossed a binder with the sauce notes my way. What a prick. Honestly I cannot believe how rude this guy was. Don’t bother wasting your money here.

To be honest, this shop is extremely lackluster. I had always imagined it was hard enough to keep a shop based solely on hot sauce above water, even with several brands and types of sauces, along with novelties. I can’t imagine how they’ll do it on their own. I felt like every one of their sauces tasted the exact same, with just a *hint* of whatever was on the label. It all tastes like a combination of the medium and spicy garlic sauces at Buffalo Wild Wings together. I haven’t had those in years and the taste was so familiar. For somebody to take such a prime piece of real estate in the heart of Old Town, I expected more of a variety and at the very least better packaging. They seem to be having a hard time filling the shelves with their lack of variety. This may be a business that it better suited for the farmer’s market (e.g. Bitchin’ Sauce) rather than a full time thing. Good luck, I guess. By the looks of it (based on my opinions and after reading reviews of the owner), somebody else will be moving into the door under the chili peppers before long.

We were in Old Town a couple of weeks ago, came across your store. Sampled your «When Pigs fly» Loved it, bought some and this morning had it on our omelets. NICE!!!, Also love the fact that your are keeping it local 99% from San Diego farmers. I’m a fan and spreading the word.

The owner is beyond rude! I walked in with my daughter and asked for a sample of the hottest sauce for my husband to sample, my husband was outside the front door. My husband loves hot sauces and I usually buy some anytime we see a hot sauce store. FYI the reason I wanted the hottest sauce was because my husband already has a palette for spicy foods! The owner gave me an attitude and replied in a scolding manner «that’s not how it works here, I don’t burn people». I was in shock at his rudeness and told him never mind on the sample, and that he was a little rude, as I started walking away he told me «you are rude», I turned around and asked if he was the owner and he replied yes, I told him I was going to give him a Unilocal review and his response was «good for you!» He kept insulting me as I walked out.
Please do not contribute to a business that treats potential customers so badly. This owner is cocky and arrogant and I suggest he stays behind the scenes unless he wants to continue scaring off customers.
I was in great spirits when I first walked in his store as I always have fun shopping at hot sauce stores. I am still in shock at how I was treated by the owner. And frankly bummed because I was looking forward to trying and buying new sauces.
As I promised him here is my review

My name is Kevin. I use to be a sriracha lover. But one Monday I found awesome hot sauce. At a farmer market. And fell in love. Now I have about 5 to 6 bottles on hand and once I eat a bottle I usually go and buy 2 or 3 more. The thing I like most is no sugar or salt. Keep up the good work.

Stopped in tonight and could not believe what a jerk the owner was to the few customers in his store. One customer tasted the hummus based hot sauce and said it has a mustard taste to it. The jerk responded by rambling really fast there is no mustard in it and to keep his opinions to himself! First of all if he is going to say such a thing he should say it straight and clear not like a coward. The Asian lady with a slight language barrier sampled a hot sauce and didn’t like it. He told her that’s just her opinion. She sampled another and said it’s worst than the other and in a condescending manner told her she is not even speaking proper! This all took place in a matter of 15minutes that I was in his store. He will speak very fast and count on his insults go over your head. I’m really having a hard time believing this place is Veteran owned!

Stopped into this small little place in fake Mexico on Labor Day. Sampled several sauces and was highly impressed. Bought two bottles, came home and joined the bottle of the month club. I just marinated some wings in the ghost pepper honey, grilled them and then finished them off in their original sauce… awesome (no pun intendended). Looking forward to my next batch! Support Vet owned!

This place is great! My wife and I stopped in and the friendly and very knowledgeable owner offered samples of the different hot sauces. I liked them all but decided to buy a 12 OZ bottle of the hummzinger which is a garbanzo bean based hot sauce which is delicious. Brought it back to Boston and have already finished the bottle. I really like the texture of these because it is a nice thick sauce that you can spread on a sandwich unlike many watery hot sauces. Just ordered two more bottles this time of slice of life which was recommended by my brother who I gave a sampler of hot sauces from this place and he loved them.

My girlfriend and I went in the store and really wanted to buy some hot sauce. He give us a sample of hot sauce and my girlfriend told he it’s a little too sour and wanted to know if there were any other less sour hot sauces. And the guy just say «We use this ABC vinegar (couldn’t remember the specific name) in all our hot sauce, so you will not like any of our hot sauce. Have a good day.» Without saying anything else. I was so happy to see you didn’t have any customers. It’s because of your shitty attitude.

I went down to Old Town to get some hot sauce from Hot Licks. Apparently they were closed! In their place I found Awesome Hot Sauce as their replacement which has a husband/​wife combo using local produce as ingredients for some amazingly delicious hot sauces! It’s not a «my hot sauce is hotter than yours» contest but just a series of seriously delicious hot sauces. From avocado, garbanzo bean, to kalamata, and butter-​based hot sauces, these are all incredibly tasty. Check them out! I hope they do well; heaven knows we need some proper sources for quality hot sauces in SD (beyond «give me your hottest»). Three cheers! Thanks for all the tastes!

Folks, look no further you just found your FAVORITE Hot Sauce company! «Awesome Hot Sauce» is exactly that. Let me start off by saying my dad is a retired chef & master pastry chef from Sicily Italy, so i know good stuff when i taste it! Daniel and his crew are always coming up with NEW creative and amazing recipes. They have so many now i can’t keep up. A few of my favorites that i always keep on hand are… The Original, The hummzinger, When pigs fly & flying saucer. Add them on online etc. to find out when they are at your local farmers market. Trust me you will make room in your fridge and toss out all your old hot sauces that you thought you loved. Keep up the great work guys and never stop what you are doing because i would be lost with out your sauce and seeing your passion for what you do! Ha