Andrew Scherr
Special to the Jewish Times

NOVEMBER 12, 2004

The Goodman family loves spicy food. In addition to the 20-plus bottles of different hot sauces they have in their pantry (and use regularly), they have a monthly subscription to Chili-Pepper Magazine and keep a chili pepper garden in the back yard of their Pikesville home.

Gene Goodman, the patriarch of the family, is a self-proclaimed “chili-head.” Over the years, he managed to turn his wife, Ann, and their daughter, Judy, onto his spicy food craze.

But in the past 10 months, the Goodmans, who belong to Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, have turned their passion for spicy foods into a new family business venture.

Along with Laurie LaComb, a family friend with a similar appreciation for all foods spicy, the Goodmans have launched Little Willie’s Grenade Sauce, the newest local hot sauce. It is sold in local gourmet, wine and specialty shops.

“This is a passion of ours, and we love it. We are having a blast,” said Mr. Goodman, owner of the Abbey Fence Co. in Baltimore. “Everybody is kind of high on the product. We’re only two weeks in business, and we’re kickin’ butt!”

In its first two weeks on the market, Little Willie’s hot sauce sold 90 cases, approximately a third of the initial batch produced. In addition to individual buyers, popular local food stops such as Attman’s Delicatessen on Lombard Street, Gourmet Again in Pikesville, the Old Vine Wine Shop in Mount Washington, the Wine Source in Hampden and a few others recently added the sauce to their shelves. The sauce is made and co-packed by the Mama Vida Co. in Randallstown.

“Our sauce has texture and viscosity, and that’s what makes it different,” Mr. Goodman said. “We are the only hot sauce company that does not use a tomato base. It’s an assortment of ingredients that all come together in the right quantities.”

Before last January, Mr. Goodman made different batches of hot sauce strictly as a hobby. At his wife’s behest, he reluctantly entered his recipe for Little Willie’s Grenade Sauce in the “Zesty Best Amateur Food Contest.”

The Goodmans were pleasantly surprised to find out that the sauce placed second among 75 recipes entered. It missed first place by two points.

After their fine showing, Ms. LaComb, who lives in Canton and is not Jewish, and Ms. Goodman convinced Mr. Goodman to market the sauce to the public. Since then, the Goodmans and Ms. LaComb together have been experimenting with the original recipe and invented three more flavors; a mild version of the original sauce, one papaya-based salsa and a mango-based salsa.

With more flavors to work with, they also discovered the sauce could be used across a wider range of recipes.

“Of course, you can always do the chip version,” said Ms. LaComb, who frequently combines Little Willie’s sauces and salsas with her meals. “Or maybe mix the hot in a tablespoon with marinades, or when I’m making a pasta dish. Just throw it in to add a little spice. There are so many things you can do with it.”

Although they are excited about their new products, the Goodmans and Ms. LaComb are in no rush to grow as a company. All of them have day jobs and view their new venture as a hobby. On their days off, they get together and offer demonstrations at local festivals, small gourmet shops and restaurants.

“It’s something different. It’s something unique,” said Judy Goodman, who has a joint degree in marketing and communications from Tulane University. “Right now, it’s more important to have a personality behind it, a face behind the product.”

Said her father: “We’re going to research and develop everything we need to. We’re going to do it the right way and walk before we run.”

For information about the hot sauce, e-mail littlewilliehot@att.net .

Andrew Scherr is a local free-lance writer.

By Jennifer Roy / Tribune Staff Writer
Friday, November 12, 2004

WALTHAM — “Walk this way” and meet Joe Perry, the mellow lead guitarist of Aerosmith and the founder of a line of smokin’ hot sauce.

Perry, 54, launched his newest creation, Mango-Peach Tango, at Jake’s Dixie Roadhouse on Moody Street last night.

Wearing sunglasses and dressed head-to-toe in black, fans lucky enough to get into the bar/restaurant clamoured to catch a glimpse and take a picture of the soft-spoken musician.

“This is over the top, it’s crazy busy,” said Don Yovicsin, the owner of Jake’s.

He said he met the rocker about a year ago when he catered a function Perry attended. Yovicsin said Perry enjoyed the food so much he asked him to cater a party at his Duxbury home for the release of Aerosmith’s latest album, “Honkin on Bobo.”

The job fell through, however, when the album’s release was delayed.

“He promised me an appearance,” said Yovicsin, who hosted a launch party for Perry’s first sauce — Joe Perry’s Rock Your World Boneyard Brew — in 2002. Perry did not attend.

But he was in the city last night, complete with leather pants and an entourage.

“I’m half Portuguese and half Italian, hot food is in my blood,” said Perry, who doesn’t go on tour without a stash of hot sauce. “I’m always looking for new and exciting tastes. I’ve been a fan of hot, spicy food for as long as I can remember.”

Paula Mixon said that’s about as long as she has been an Aerosmith fan. The 41-year-old Providence, R.I., resident did not have a reservation at Jake’s last night, but got in the door when bouncers got a look at her black Mini Cooper.

The car is a tribute to the band — and front man Steven Tyler — complete with an Aerosmith logo on its hood and pictures of Tyler on the roof and back window.

Mixon, who waited patiently in the bar for an autograph and snapshot of Perry, said she has never met members of the band but has attended at least 20 shows.

“Everybody loves him,” she said of Perry. “He’s such a great performer. He’s amazing. You can tell he loves what he does.”

Last night, Perry traded his guitar for a bottle of hot sauce.

He said Mango-Peach Tango is a fruit-based sauce with a “Caribbean feel.”

“The peach adds a little bit of tang to it,” he said.

The sauce is made by Dedham-based Ashley Food Co. Inc. Perry and company president/owner David Ashley developed the sauce line about six years ago.

“We had a lot of similar tastes and ideas about where it would go. There are no preservatives and we used the freshest ingredients,” said Perry.

“(Ashley) knows how to market a sauce.”

Perry’s sauce is sold online at www.joeperrysrockyourworld.com, Newbury Comics, some Stop & Shop supermarkets in New England and at select specialty stores and boutiques. It typically sells for about $8 a bottle.

Perry said it is also sold at the Hard Rock Cafe and the restaurant’s chefs are using it in some dishes.

Last night, chefs at Jake’s tried their hand at creating dishes with the hot sauce. Among items on the a la carte menu: pan seared & Mango-Peach Tango glazed scallops, Mango-Peach Tango chicken and cheese flautas and Mango-Peach Tango pork loin.

Perry said stores and restaurants will soon have a third item to add to their shelves — a spicy jam-like sauce that is still being developed.