Hooo-eee! Now that's hot!
January 24, 2007 12:53 PM Subscribe
Prince's Hot Chicken. Three words that get Nashvillians (and others) sweating and drooling. Don't believe me? Ask Yo La Tengo.
Why'd you have to go and post this? I left Nashville over three years ago, and i only miss three things: black beans from Calypso, anything at La Hacienda, and hot chicken...
I do have a confession to make... when I lived there I went to Lorrie Morgan's Hot Chicken (official name, HOTchickens.com). The main reason was their HOT battered deep fried corn on the cob on a stick. You were also guaranteed seating there, which was nice. Their website is gone now, and I think the restaurant is too, but using the magic of the Wayback Machine, you can read their history, which oh so lovingly refers to the "colored section of town." I guess they thought their story was cute, but they basically admit to reverse-engineering the recipe from the black-owned Prince's and opening their own restaurant to compete with them. Classy.
Mr. Boo's was the last place in Nashville that I know of that had hot chicken. I don't know if it's still open. Their claim to fame was a secret pepper farm somewhere in Louisiana. At the level of heat I order, it's hard to tell a difference in flavor. I love it all.
It may have been with dig_duggler, but before leaving Nashville, I thought I'd try the hottest hot chicken they make. For a brief period after I was either seeing stars or hallucinating. That shit tore me up.
*sigh* I really miss Nashville sometimes.
posted by AaRdVarK at 1:13 PM on January 24, 2007
I do have a confession to make... when I lived there I went to Lorrie Morgan's Hot Chicken (official name, HOTchickens.com). The main reason was their HOT battered deep fried corn on the cob on a stick. You were also guaranteed seating there, which was nice. Their website is gone now, and I think the restaurant is too, but using the magic of the Wayback Machine, you can read their history, which oh so lovingly refers to the "colored section of town." I guess they thought their story was cute, but they basically admit to reverse-engineering the recipe from the black-owned Prince's and opening their own restaurant to compete with them. Classy.
Mr. Boo's was the last place in Nashville that I know of that had hot chicken. I don't know if it's still open. Their claim to fame was a secret pepper farm somewhere in Louisiana. At the level of heat I order, it's hard to tell a difference in flavor. I love it all.
It may have been with dig_duggler, but before leaving Nashville, I thought I'd try the hottest hot chicken they make. For a brief period after I was either seeing stars or hallucinating. That shit tore me up.
*sigh* I really miss Nashville sometimes.
posted by AaRdVarK at 1:13 PM on January 24, 2007
I also recommend Harold's Chicken Shack in Chicago. Though quality can differ from shack to schack the general rules is: the worse the neighborhood, the better the chicken.
posted by psmealey at 1:31 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by psmealey at 1:31 PM on January 24, 2007
I have friends from Nashville who have tormented me with stories of this chicken. Without having tasted it, it sounds like my favorite food on earth.
Sigh. In New York City I am reduced to Popeye's spicy chicken.
posted by Bookhouse at 1:52 PM on January 24, 2007
Sigh. In New York City I am reduced to Popeye's spicy chicken.
posted by Bookhouse at 1:52 PM on January 24, 2007
I've never had it, or even heard about before - but now I'm really wanting to try some hot chicken. Too bad the odds are slim I'll ever be to Nashville. But if I do make it, I will most definitely be stopping at one.
Perhaps the city would be willing to ship one of the stores up here to Seattle in trade for a teriyaki place? A dozen teriyaki places? ALL the teriyaki places??? (WTF is the strange obsession with people here for this pseudo-teriyaki stuff?)
Now if I could only get Chicago to send a Portillo's and a Giordano's in a similar trade... (the food is the only thing I miss about Chicago...)
posted by evilangela at 1:54 PM on January 24, 2007
Perhaps the city would be willing to ship one of the stores up here to Seattle in trade for a teriyaki place? A dozen teriyaki places? ALL the teriyaki places??? (WTF is the strange obsession with people here for this pseudo-teriyaki stuff?)
Now if I could only get Chicago to send a Portillo's and a Giordano's in a similar trade... (the food is the only thing I miss about Chicago...)
posted by evilangela at 1:54 PM on January 24, 2007
The hot chicken landscape in Nashville has changed a bit over the last couple years....Mr. Boo's has been closed for a couple years (of course it was my favorite...), hotchickens.com closed up shop, but Prince's is still going strong, as long as you don't mind the (at least) hour wait to get your food.
There's a new joint near TSU called 400 degrees that gives Prince's a BIG time run for their money. Wilma Kaye's cajun kitchen also makes a pretty hot bird.
posted by rhythim at 1:58 PM on January 24, 2007
There's a new joint near TSU called 400 degrees that gives Prince's a BIG time run for their money. Wilma Kaye's cajun kitchen also makes a pretty hot bird.
posted by rhythim at 1:58 PM on January 24, 2007
I love to find out about these crazy regional cuisines. Stuff that, for one reason or another, only took off in a limited area.
I mean, in this case, I look at the pics and that stuff looks just disgusting. But for some reason, its da shit in Nashville.
I really can't think of any sort of non-homogenized regional cuisine where I live. There's a ton of variety, but nothing uniquely "Edmonton". Something that drives Edmontonians crazy and that causes ex-pats to pine over, but with a certain charm that that the rest of world just can't figure out.
posted by C.Batt at 2:00 PM on January 24, 2007
I mean, in this case, I look at the pics and that stuff looks just disgusting. But for some reason, its da shit in Nashville.
I really can't think of any sort of non-homogenized regional cuisine where I live. There's a ton of variety, but nothing uniquely "Edmonton". Something that drives Edmontonians crazy and that causes ex-pats to pine over, but with a certain charm that that the rest of world just can't figure out.
posted by C.Batt at 2:00 PM on January 24, 2007
I wish there was something like this anywhere near Los Angeles. Surely with the number of displanted Nashvillians (along with expats of every other city in the U.S. who flock to L.A.) there HAS to be someone who knows how to make Hot Chicken and wants to sell it.
posted by jonson at 2:18 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by jonson at 2:18 PM on January 24, 2007
I have probably the sole remaining container/shaker of the Bouglea pepper seasoning that Mr. Boo's used...i ought to have it chemically reverse-engineered...lol.
posted by rhythim at 2:28 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by rhythim at 2:28 PM on January 24, 2007
yeah it's been years since i had me some prince's hot. get your self a nice greasy darkmeat medium, comes with white bread and some pickels. wash it down with your favorite beer. hot damn thats some good chicken!
posted by nola at 2:48 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by nola at 2:48 PM on January 24, 2007
I wish I got it but I just dont get it.
More power to ya if ya love spicy food but it leaves me scratchin my head.
I guess I dont have that thing that makes people love spicy food.
For me, not liking spicy stuff is a no-brainer. Its for the same reason that I dont jab my tongue with a fork over and over.
Pain is bad.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 3:18 PM on January 24, 2007
More power to ya if ya love spicy food but it leaves me scratchin my head.
I guess I dont have that thing that makes people love spicy food.
For me, not liking spicy stuff is a no-brainer. Its for the same reason that I dont jab my tongue with a fork over and over.
Pain is bad.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 3:18 PM on January 24, 2007
Pain is bad.
Some people are biters (and bitees) when they fuck. Some people like their hair pulled. Don't even get me started on those cock-and-ball torture weirdos. Oh, and the spanking. We can't forget the spanking.
Sometimes pain isn't the only thing going on.
posted by Cyrano at 4:19 PM on January 24, 2007
Some people are biters (and bitees) when they fuck. Some people like their hair pulled. Don't even get me started on those cock-and-ball torture weirdos. Oh, and the spanking. We can't forget the spanking.
Sometimes pain isn't the only thing going on.
posted by Cyrano at 4:19 PM on January 24, 2007
Is this any different from fresh-fried chicken smothered in hot sauce? Plus a little twist, maybe? Like how buffalo wings are just unbreaded fried chicken wings smothered in hot sauce and butter?
posted by rxrfrx at 4:45 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by rxrfrx at 4:45 PM on January 24, 2007
Some people like spicy foods because they evoke a release of endorphins. You can easily become habituated to capsaicin, the spicy chemical.
My housemate loves spicy foods. Every month, he buys a pound of habaneros, dries them in the oven (rendering the kitchen and front half of the house toxic), grinds them, and puts them in his shaker. He puts a teaspoon of that on his scrambled eggs every day, and a teaspoon or two on whatever is for dinner. That is roughly the equivalent of 1/4 cup of regular red pepper flakes. I wonder whether hot chicken would even register.
Sounds yummy to me, though...
posted by owhydididoit at 5:46 PM on January 24, 2007
My housemate loves spicy foods. Every month, he buys a pound of habaneros, dries them in the oven (rendering the kitchen and front half of the house toxic), grinds them, and puts them in his shaker. He puts a teaspoon of that on his scrambled eggs every day, and a teaspoon or two on whatever is for dinner. That is roughly the equivalent of 1/4 cup of regular red pepper flakes. I wonder whether hot chicken would even register.
Sounds yummy to me, though...
posted by owhydididoit at 5:46 PM on January 24, 2007
So, is it hot like spicy, or hot like Phal curry -- which is so chilli-laden it will blister skin and make your teeth sting?
posted by scruss at 7:18 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by scruss at 7:18 PM on January 24, 2007
it's fried then coated in seasonings very hot seasoning.
posted by nola at 8:12 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by nola at 8:12 PM on January 24, 2007
More power to ya if ya love spicy food but it leaves me scratchin my head.
If some dry scalp is all you get off with, you're luckier than I am.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:16 PM on January 24, 2007 [1 favorite]
If some dry scalp is all you get off with, you're luckier than I am.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:16 PM on January 24, 2007 [1 favorite]
It really is good chicken. I am a wimp, and got "medium" and it damn nearly took my breath away the first bite. After adjusting, it was simply very good hot fried chicken.
posted by Ynoxas at 9:27 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by Ynoxas at 9:27 PM on January 24, 2007
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But beware the fire in the hole you will surely have.
Also recommended : Lorrie Morgan's and Boo's.
posted by dig_duggler at 1:05 PM on January 24, 2007