Hot chicken has become Nashville’s version of the Magnolia cupcake: It’s everywhere, including at the airport. Today, it’s a quick meal for one of the ubiquitous bachelorette parties before they hit the Broadway Honky Tonk. But the city’s signature dish has a long history that’s deeply rooted in Nashville’s Black communities.
But gentrification eats everything. For Nashvillians, the expansion of hot chicken to the masses means practically everyone in the 615 has nearly 24/7 access to that crave-able deep-fried combination of tender meat, crispy skin, and choose-your-own-adventure hot sauce. What separates Nashville’s hot chicken from that of other localities, like Buffalo’s , is the buttermilk brine ( similar to what Jacques Pépin likes for his roast chicken ). Sometimes pickle juice is added as well , to keep the meat tender and provide a punch of sour flavor.
As a native Tennessean who’s been immersed in the Nashville culinary scene for some time, making this list was no small feat. With so many options in so many neighborhoods, it’s hard to narrow down the best places to get hot chicken in Nashville. but each of these selections offers good, flavorful food with a heavy focus on consistency. Some keep things traditional, while others reinvent the wheel. The choice is yours.
Prince’s Hot Chicken
Prince’s claims to be the place with “The Original Hot Chicken,” and it has a pretty good story to back it up. Supposedly, during the Great Depression, a Nashvillian named Thornton Prince, who had the reputation of being a bit of a ladies’ man, got what (probably) was coming to him when one of his scorned girlfriends spiked his fried chicken with a mouth-scorching combination of peppers and spices. Turns out, Thornton Prince loved it. He loved it so much that he perfected the recipe and opened a restaurant specializing in the stuff in 1945…