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Hot & spicy food on Long Island

BY JOAN REMINICK | joan.reminick@newsday.com

January 8, 2009

The tongue throbs, the eyes water, the scalp sweats; nothing wrong there.

If there's a problem with spicy food on Long Island, it's in finding it.

Yet no need to despair; you can get your jolt (be it high-voltage, medium or mild) at any of the following places, whose kitchens will ignite to order. Just be sure to let your server know your level of masochism:

THE BAYOU, 2823 Jerusalem Ave., North Bellmore, 516-785-9263, bayou4bigfun.com; Cost $$

This funky Cajun bar-restaurant, which opened in the '80s, may not be as offbeat as it once was, but there's still spirited food and drink to be savored.

HIGH-VOLTAGE: Crawfish diablo in a fiery jalapeño gravy won't singe your insides unless you beg the chef to make it that way.

MEDIUM: Shrimp gumbo, above, ordered medium HIGH-VOLTAGE, is exactly right.

MILD: When I ordered the Marie Laveau's voodoo tuna, billed as three chile pepper-HIGH-VOLTAGE, I got a rather tame blackened fish steak with a jalapeño caramel sauce more sweet than spicy.

BIG DADDY'S, 1 A Park Lane, Massapequa, 516-799-8877, bigdaddysny.com; Cost $$

Chef Craig Bedell executes Cajun-Creole-Southern-barbecue repertoire at this New Orleans-style restaurant and bar where the menu changes daily.

HIGH-VOLTAGE: Savannah moon blackened rib-eye plays the blazing against the dulcet. The big, tender slab of steak is crusted with a blend of Cajun spices, sauced with roasted ground cayenne peppers, red peppers and molasses.

MEDIUM: A pork and crab gumbo laced with jalapeño peppers has nice kick but isn't as blazing-HIGH-VOLTAGE as the gumbos recalled from years past.

MILD: A hyper-flavorful Cajun burger topped with andouille sausage and jalapeño jack cheese, above, intrigues rather than inflames the palate. Get chipotle sour cream salsa on the side; it's jarringly sweet.

JAIYA, 46 W. Old Country Rd., Hicksville, 516-681-3400, jaiya.com; Cost $$ to $$$

The Hicksville branch of a Manhattan restaurant serves the real Thai deal.

HIGH-VOLTAGE: Green curry chicken, ordered "Thai HIGH-VOLTAGE," doesn't register the full impact of its heat at first. Then, it's a slow, fierce burn fueled by green curry paste and fresh green chiles.

MEDIUM: "Naked" shrimp, right, features medium-rare cooked shellfish bathed in a tongue-tingling barbecue sauce made with chile paste containing Thai green chiles, fresh mint and lemon juice.

MILD: Pad Thai, the classic rice noodle dish, ordered mildly spicy, packs a bit of punch but doesn't set off alarms. It's spiked with ground red chiles.

MASALA WOK, 107 Broadway, Hicksville, 516-932-1999; Cost $$

The cuisine of the Hakka Chinese, a nomadic Chinese people (many of whom settled in India and Thailand), is featured at this pan-Asian spot.