PITA and I (yeah snow day) picked up our free lunch today, courtesy of Panda Express.  I’ll admit that I haven’t eaten at this chain in about 15 or so years, just about the time they were entering the Chicago market…there was so much orange grease on my plate I walked out and never returned.  Obviously with a memory like that, it would just about take a free meal to get me to return.  Here’s a picture of the little boxes that the Firecracker Chicken came in.  I put the tissue in for size comparison, ’cause these boxes are really tiny. And hot!!  Don’t get me wrong, I adore hot food and heavily spice up my cooking with peppers, but this stuff is crazy hot!  How hot you might ask?  So hot that they probably had to get clearance from the Wheaton Fire Department before putting it on the menu; so hot that they keep fire extinguishers in the bathroom; so hot…well, you get the drift.

Actual price of this single entree is $3.  Would I go back?  Depends… It’s not a giant container, and adding rice is another two bucks.  Taking it home (with your own rice) would be one alternative, but then you still have only enough for one person, when any self-respecting Chinese restaurant container would be about 2 1/2 to 3 times more.  My advice is that if people in your group want to eat there, go along, but don’t make it your first choice.