No Spice: Why Can’t Lubbock Find This Popular & Delicious Condiment?

It's a must-have for Chinese take-out. Delicious in chilis and stews. But it's perfect placement? On pizza! What am I talking about? The difficult-to-pronounce and even harder-to-spell Sriracha "Rooster" hot sauce.

But good luck finding it in Lubbock right now.

It seems to be available nowhere, according to the uber-popular Facebook group LBK Foodies, who are basically all food detectives. They did have some suggestions on where to look, which we will get to, but first- why is it so impossible to find here in the 806?

The reason it is rare here is because it is rare everywhere. The chilis used in our favorite neon red condiment are grown in Mexico, but the crop largely failed.

Drought in Mexico has resulted in a scarcity of chilli peppers – in particular, red jalapeños, the raw material of sriracha.

Apparently, red jalapenos require a lot of care and finesse and must be hand-picked. It's a labor of love, but no amount of love can overcome a lack of water. With fewer chilis, there's less production of hot sauce and therefore more rarity. Of course, knowing that it's rare makes it more desirable, so it gets bought up more, and....you get the picture.

The LBK Foodies have been on the hunt, reporting they were unable to find Sriracha at the usual grocery stores they frequent. Instead, they suggested looking at our area Asian markets. I think that's a great idea, even if you don't end up with a bottle of the best, because every trip I take to the Asian market results in me finding a new favorite food, condiment or (especially) candy.

Honestly, I would mostly suggest patience and vigilance. Most stores stock at night, so that may be a good time to drop by and take a peek- or early the next morning. It may be rare, but it's not non-existent, so your ability to delay gratification and wait until your bottle finds you will make it all the sweeter. And spicier. And tangy-er. And seriously, even more of the best thing that has happened to pizza since pepperoni.