Nashville Hot Chicken

I am not sure what makes Nashville the mecca of hot chicken but they sure do. There are places in Nashville that do the hot chicken that are very famous. I am looking forward to our roadtrip in Nashville to try these places agin.

Poverty knows these places very well.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I think it's workin in all them heat-treat plants like they do.

When I lived in Franklin, TN in the 70's, she Sonic near us had a hot fried chicken for a little while (I don't think sonic serves any fried chicken any more at all?) - it was ok, but that real hot chicken you mention Sundancer sounds *fine*.

We ate the other night at the Scoreboard sports bar off Music Valley Dr. across from the Opryland hotel. They have some pretty darn good hot chicken.

I think the options were breast or leg-thigh quarter. The wings were only available as sauced hot wings but were still pretty good. The waiter mentioned they might be adding wings as a hot chicken option, they're still sorting out their hot chicken menu.

I had a chicken breast hot, it was probably about Prince's medium or so. It was very crispy, not too salty and good flavor. I'll have to go back and see how they do about asking them to turn up the heat a little.

It's kind of hidden from the road, you have to turn into that shopping center parking lot where Trail West is and drive around. Also I don't smoke so it was a little smoky for me but we just sat near the door which kept it flushed out pretty well.

Definitely worth a trip.

Help. I grew up in Tennessee, worked in Nashville 6 yrs. after college. What is hot Chicken? Fried Chicken???

I have never had the real Nashville hot chicken but my assumption is that it is pan fried with a lot of hot seasoning. I understand that the real Nashville Hot chicken is fiery

Poverty Pete or Pogophiles can give you a much better definition.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

It can be pan fried or deep fried, but it is fried. Boos was my favorite and it was deep fried, they would pack on the special dry spice after it was cooked.

Princes is pan fried, and also very tasty, I think 400 degrees also claimed to be pan frying. Scoreboard I believe is deep frying theirs.

And yes it is referring to spicy hot, not heat hot. If you do like hot things beware, it is addictive! It's one of those things that it is hard to describe exactly why it is so good, you just have to try it for yourself.

Once that sweat starts to bead on your forehead you'll understand.
;-)

Thanks, I may try pulling this off during the weekend.

I want to try the hot chicken during our visit in April with the Roadfood gang. I hope it is not too hot?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I want to try the hot chicken during our visit in April with the Roadfood gang. I hope it is not too hot?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Better order the mild then dude...

quote:

Originally posted by pogophiles

Better order the mild then dude...

Maybe I had better order the less than mild???

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I have never had this style of chicken, but then maybe it is because I am from back East (NJ) and now in CA, thanks to hubby's AF career. I love good fried chicken. Is that what you are talking about?

Any ideas where this can be found in the Sacramento area of CA?

Thanks in advance.

MG

Sorry, but as far as I've found, if you're out of Nashville, you're out of hot chicken.
Paul, I'm sure you can handle the mild variety. Most people don't start breaking out in a sweat until they get to medium.

Hi guys,

I'm headed to Nashville in a little over a week; I will be staying there overnight. This hot chicken stuff sounds great -- I'm a big fan of atomic-grade wings. Anyways, any recommendations for specific restaurants that serve it?

Thanks.

Prince's, Bolton's and 400 degrees

quote:

Originally posted by pogophiles

Prince's, Bolton's and 400 degrees

Way too hot for me. I like some spice but I cannot handle it that hot.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Thanks guys.

quote:

Originally posted by mgmei

Thanks guys.

Make sure you post on your experiences. I'm like you in that the hotter the better.

If you want a sit down, Scoreboard is probably your best bet. Of course it's not very far from there to Princes either.

If you only had time to hit one I would say go to Princes Hot Chicken Shack.

quote:

Originally posted by MilwFoodlovers

quote:

Originally posted by mgmei

Thanks guys.

Make sure you post on your experiences. I'm like you in that the hotter the better.

Ok, so I had my first hot chicken experience today, but it wasn't at Prince's.

We wanted to go to Prince's, and in a 2006 article that I found online, Prince's owner said that he opened at noon on Saturdays. As a result, we hit up the Parthenon this morning and looked to partake of some Prince's hot chicken around 12:45 or so. We pulled into the parking lot (the whole area looked pretty run down) and noticed that no one was in there. A handwritten sign was on the door saying that it would open at 2:00pm. Unfortunately, I had a wedding to attend at 3:00pm, and I figured that fresh chicken takes some time to prepare, so we decided to head to 400 degrees.

After a brief pit stop, we finally ended up at 400 degrees at about 1:45. The menu was fairly brief; you could order one of I think four different sandwiches: chicken breast, chicken leg, something else, and pork chop. The chicken breast was 4.50 I believe, and the chicken leg was a little cheaper (a shade under 4.00). A single portion of a side dish cost a little extra -- for the record, the sides weren't anything to write home about.

The chicken, however, was awesome. The portions were generously-sized, and fried to crispy-yet-juicy perfection. You could order it at one of four different degrees of spiciness: 0 degrees (plain), 100 degrees (mild), 200 degrees (medium), 400 degrees (very hot). I ordered a chicken breast sandwich at 200 degrees, which ended up being somewhat spicy, but it packed a little less heat than, say, your average atomic wings. Next time I would try 400 degrees.

The term sandwich is a little bit of a misnomer, as lunch really consists of two slices of white bread with the chicken placed on top; I think the bread is there primarily to soak up the copious grease. Still, pure fried chicken goodness.

The owner, Aqui Fleming nee Simpson, greeted me personally and asked about how I ended up in Nashville and how I heard about her restaurant. She was extremely friendly, and mentioned that while she had only been open for about a year or so, she was already thinking about franchising out -- Knoxville (my hometown) was one of the destinations she had in mind! I think that's a great idea, personally :-)

Thanks for the heads up guys.

400 degree's eh? My mouth is watering. I too will order it @ 400 degree's.

quote:

Originally posted by mgmei

I think the bread is there primarily to soak up the copious grease.

Got it right in one...

I'm certainly glad you had a good first time. When we tried 400 degrees my only complaint was that it was almost unedibly salty.

Just wondering if you experienced any of that?

And yes, the bread seems to be a general hot chicken standard. It's there to absorb the grease, and is usually at least as good as the chicken itself. ;-)

quote:

Originally posted by caver

I'm certainly glad you had a good first time. When we tried 400 degrees my only complaint was that it was almost unedibly salty.

Just wondering if you experienced any of that?

And yes, the bread seems to be a general hot chicken standard. It's there to absorb the grease, and is usually at least as good as the chicken itself. ;-)

I didn't personally have any problems with the salt content. But come to think of it, I was pretty thirsty that night ...

Where is 400 degrees located? I live in Nashville and have apparently missed them. If their medium is less hot than atomic wings it's probably not as hot as most other hot chicken places.

They're over on Clarksville Pike. I don't remember exactly how I got there (I'm from Knoxville), but I think 18th Ave., Dominican something, and a Jewish cemetary, were all involved.

Mmmm, this hot chicken sounds so delicious, if I am ever in Tennessee I am going to have to try some!

~Jessica

Hmmmm, MGMEI,

Let's See???? Some Dominican Nuns and Conservative Jews run a chicken joint near a cemetary in Nashville, near the 18th hole ??? I get so confused !

Just Joshing, My friend. All I hear from my Nashville friends is how good it is! I don't handle spicy hot to the extreme anymore, but the milder versions sound delicious!
AL

quote:

Originally posted by pogophiles

quote:

Originally posted by mgmei

I think the bread is there primarily to soak up the copious grease.

Got it right in one...

White bread served like that is SOP in the Nashville area. If you go to a BBQ joint and order a rib samich the slap some bone-in ribs on a couple pieces of white bread, wrap it up and there you go. The bread is to be used as a Wet One to wipe the sauce off your fingers and face![|)]

I think I am a bit like the Mayor. No 400F for me. I like a bit of a tang but not too much.

I am looking for to Prince's hot chicken in April but I guarantee, I will not do the hot hot.

Paul E. Smith
knoxville, TN