KCET FOOD

Midnight Snack: Hot Wings Cafe with Jimmy Pardo

The long nights of hard living that come with being a young comedian trying to make his bones lends itself to, perhaps, not the most exquisite or healthy cuisine. It’s late night burritos at taco trucks and hot wings at places like, well, the Hot Wings Cafe on Melrose. Your normal, casual, no-frills, brightly-lit, televised-sports-in-every-direction wings place, this was one of the regular late-night haunts for comedian Jimmy Pardo a few years back. While the stability that comes with a family and regular gig - nightly opener for “Conan” and host of the podcast Never Not Funny, who are putting on their third annual 12-hour fundraising marathon on the day after Thanksgiving, for Smile Train, has cut into the frequency of his wing binges, I got him to accompany me there after a UCB set to relive old times, talk about what makes the perfect wing, and burn his mouth to a cinder. But in a good way.

Rick: What’s the normal crowd like?
Jimmy: You know, we’re here on the early side of late night. But you never really knew if it was going to be a family of Mormons or gunplay. You didn’t really know what was happening. You look around today, and it’s just normal people coming out for food. But sure, there used to be a little danger element to it.

Rick: What makes a good wing?
Jimmy: My dad describes a good wing as one that just kind of disintegrates in your stomach. It’s so hot and spicy that your body doesn’t know what to do with it so your body just destroys it. And that’s the perfect way to put it. You can tolerate eating it, but then two seconds later it’s burning your mouth to a cinder. But then you enjoy it.

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