O.K., I’m the first to admit that I’m a sriracha snob. Used to be that if I went to a restaurant or someone’s house and they didn’t have Huy Fong “rooster sauce” sriracha, I’d hit them with this face.

I even had a “rooster” t-shirt that I’d rock with the utmost pride.

(me in spirit)

But recently I had a revelation, and as gospel great Karen Clark-Sheard once sang, “I’ve Been Changed.”

Here’s what happened. Longtime readers of my newsletter might remember the time I had mad beef with an in-store noodle bar at a Whole Foods in South Carolina because they didn’t offer sriracha as a condiment. I mean, who tf runs a noodle bar without sriracha?

Anyway, I wrote an angry email to the manager complaining about the situation, but not surprisingly, I never got a response.

Fast forward nearly a year later and I was back at the same Whole Foods. I tried to bypass the noodle bar but the food smells got the best of me.

I got my bowl and when I arrived at the eat-in area, I saw that they actually had some sriracha. But it was some brand I ain’t never heard of called Ninja Squirrel. Of course, I got an attitude. I mean, what does a squirrel have to do with sriracha? And why’d it have to be a “ninja” squirrel? What kind of stereotype-perpetuating bullshit is that?

Anyway, I tasted it, trying my best not to like it. But I couldn’t resist. Ninja Squirrel sriracha has a heartier, deeper flavor than “rooster sauce,” and the garlic content stops just short of being friend repelling. (“Rooster sauce,” admittedly can sometimes leave you with lingering funk mouth.)

I’m now a full-on Ninja Squirrel sriracha devotee. You can only buy it at Whole Foods, but it’s well worth the trip. Also, according to this story, Ninja Squirrel sriracha is made without perservatives, so assumably it’s not going to slowly kill you from the inside in the name of spice. Eat up!