Howlin' Ray's in Los Angeles is a hot-chicken destination for Viet Pham, who seeks the heat in the form of a super-spicy sandwich (pictured above), which he deems "not your ordinary chicken sandwich." It's piled high with a crispy fried chicken breast, which gets dunked in spicy oil and blanketed with bold spices. For a welcome balance of flavor, the sandwich is topped with a pile of coleslaw and as well as vibrant pickles. 

"The food is exciting, very flavorful and muy caliente," Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli says of the menu at Johnny Sánchez, a hot spot nestled in New Orleans. She likes to indulge in their tacos, both the tortillas stuffed with albondigas (aka meatballs) or the succulent pork carnitas (pictured above). When it comes to the heat in the carnitas, it's all about the habanero salsa, made with fresh citrus and cilantro. "As the flavors meld together, you get that slow burn," Alex says of the combo of pork and salsa. 

When it comes to Thai food, Chef Brad Farmerie says simply, "I want hot and spicy." At Uncle Boons in New York City, that means an order of the curry-laced snails or this heaping piled of pulled chicken salad (pictured above). This rotisserie-cooked bird gets its spice from both a brush of a coconut milk mixture as well as a chile dressing that gets tossed with the salad fixings of meat, cilantro and cashews.   

At San Francisco's Dosa on Fillmore, Chef Stephanie Izard likes to order the dosa as well as what's called an uttapam (pictured above), which she likens to "a flattened pancake." This one in particular features no fewer than four kinds of chiles, including Thai chiles and habaneros. "It's making my mouth on fire just thinking about it," she says.