Finally made some time to go down and eat here:
[https://www.hotchickschicken.com/](https://www.hotchickschicken.com/)
Forgot to get some pictures before I got my hands dirty with food, unfortunately. =(
What I ate: Jumbo Tenders (3), fries, bread, and a side of mac and cheese.
Seasoning: Had the ‘Hot’ seasoning on the chicken – afterward, I asked for some of their ‘Hot AF’ seasoning and sprinkled it liberally on top of the fries.
So first off, let’s talk about the chicken.
I’m not a Nashville hot chicken expert, so I don’t really know what is ‘authentic’. The chicken is heavily breaded and crispy, to the point that it is difficult to cut with the plastic cutlery provided. However, it is still quite juicy inside, so you’re better off just using your hands. The seasoning is a dry pepper powder applied on top of the chicken, and I believe that the chicken is fried in a seasoned oil as it is quite red even in the areas without the seasoning. The tenders are quite large – the tenders are individually about 1.5x as long as the slice of bread, and two of the tenders were able to entirely cover the bread. The tenders are served with their secret sauce which is quite tasty – is much the same as most restaurants’ secret sauce, although I believe I taste a bit of ranch?
Next up, the seasoning:
The ‘Hot’ seasoning is quite good and left me sweating quite a bit, in a good way. I was able to eat everything at a reasonable pace and never felt like it was so spicy that I had to stop eating. That being said, I did need to wipe my brow a few times, and I had a few glasses of water to help cool things down a bit.
The ‘Hot AF’ seasoning was quite intense. I had it on the fries, so the concentration was probably not as much as you would see on the chicken. However, it still was insanely hot. It sneaks up on you a bit – the first few fries weren’t too bad, but the more you eat, the more intense and painful the spice gets. I asked the workers what peppers were in it – they told me it contains cayenne, habanero, ghost pepper, and Carolina reaper. The reaper is definitely very prominent, especially in how the heat starts off subtle and builds in the back of your throat. I couldn’t really taste the ghost pepper, but the heat was definitely there. Even after 30 minutes, I’m still sweating XD
As for the sides, they aren’t bad, but I don’t think they’re anything worth making a special trip for. The mac and cheese was pretty good – cheesy with a nice bite to it. They also sprinkled some of the seasoning (probably the medium) on top, so I would imagine you can have them add the hotter seasonings instead to make it more intense. Fries are fries – you get a lot, and they are made to order. You could probably have them toss it with the chicken seasoning straight out of the oil as well, which would make the seasoning adhere better.
Overall, I have to say that I liked this place a lot. The price is pretty reasonable – my meal was a bit less than $15.00 for a lot of food. Honestly, just the tenders basket (which included everything but the mac) was probably enough to fill me up, especially considering I drank a bunch of water. The taste was great, and the spice was perfect. Next time, I’ll just get the tenders and have on with the ‘Hot AF’ seasoning. I don’t think I can do all 3 XD