Michael Anthony Q&A

IE: You’ve just released the third and fourth entries into your line of Mad Anthony sauces. What started this?
Michael Anthony: I like to cook, but, you know, the rappers are all doing clothes, so I can’t. Might as well do the sauce. I’ve always loved hot sauce, and through needling some friends, I decided to do a hot sauce. I actually have a hot sauce and a spicy mustard that we came out with last year. But we came out with the barbeque sauce this year and the Hard Rock was looking for something like this. So we struck a marriage of sorts. And I have a permanent menu item [Mad Anthony's Grilled Skirt Steak].

IE: So this is what you’re interested in now?
MA: It’s like, what do I do in my downtime now? Hot sauce entrepreuer?

IE: Something tells us Sammy Hagar’s tequila informed this decision.
MA: We have something called the MA Shot, that Sammy and I came up with. My sauce, his tequila, a little spicy Bloody Mary mix. It’s almost along the lines of a Bloody Mary shot, but it’s kicked up there a couple notches.

IE: Any cooking recommendations?
MA: I put it on everything I eat. I put this sucker on a ham sandwich. I’m not above doing something like that. The way we develop the extra hot, we don’t want to make it so that it blows your head apart. Anyone can make a hot sauce that is so hot. I’ve already been through a phase of bragging rights.

IE: What about the future of Van Halen?
MA: Van Halen went back on hiatus again. Eddie’s dealing with stuff. Sammy and I want to get back out and play. In ‘06, Sammy and I got plans to go out, a little thing we put together called The Other Half. A little more Van Halen-oriented thing, rather than Sammy Hagar & The Waboritas.

– Steve Forstneger

Michael Anthony’s hot sauces are available at the Hard Rock Cafe and through www.madanthonycafe.com.

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