The Great Nashville Hot Chicken Exploration

Thus far I have been negligent in providing my own feedback from the Hot Chicken experiment. Here I will attempt to remedy that, but in an abbreviated fashion. The hot chicken is good for the soul, easy on the pocketbook, and tough on the digestive system.

• Prince’s Hot Chicken - This place pretty much sets the bar for atmosphere, food quality, and hot chicken experience. This is mainly by virtue of being the place the most locals swear by. We have found the heat to be inconsistent, but the chicken quite tasty. And visiting the establishment is just uncomfortable enough to add to the experience. The potato salad was pretty standard fare, but was definitely satisfactory. With a low health inspection score, multiple circa 80s TVs, and a broken air conditioner, Prince’s definitely has a lot of character. I will be going back there again. A bonus is that they are open until about 4am everyday.
• Bolton’s Hot Chicken and Fish - This place was awesome. The taste and quality of the food completely blew away the bar set by Prince’s. Tasty chicken and a perfect amount of heat. The potato salad left a little to be desired, but the name is “Hot Chicken and Fish”… not “Potato Salad”. Bolton’s is also much more convenient being just across the river in east Nashville. The Bolton’s experience was a great one, and they will certainly get return visits.
• 400 Degrees - This place had the sketchy part of town going for it, but the chicken was sub par. Not only was the quarter of dark meat kinda smallish and not really filling, but it appeared to be fried chicken that was dipped in a liquid batter of cayenne pepper and then flash fried a second time. 400 degrees also appears to deep fry their hot chicken instead of pan-frying. Whereas usually the outer skin and fryings are often the most flavorful part of the chicken, in this case, the outer shell was caked with cayenne pepper, which was not only pretty freakin’ hot, but also tasted pretty bad and had a texture that was even worse. I ate the chicken, but not much of the outer layer. Nice try 400 degrees, but I wasn’t impressed by the execution of it. On the other hand, the burgers coming out of that place smelled awesome. May go back for a burger or pork chop, but not for hot chicken.

We have been to one more place, but I will wait until the full review with pictures and such has been posted. I will say that it was the most painful location yet.