[coughing]
Alana Yzola: Drink! Drink one of these!
Herrine Ro: I like it, but it hurts!
[crying]
Man down! [coughs]
[singing country cover "She Will Be Loved"]
Hi guys, I'm Herrine.
And I'm Alana.
Herrine: And today, we are in Nashville.
This place isn't just home to great music
and Southern charm; it's also home to hot chicken.
Alana: Yeah, and we're hitting up four major spots today.
One is the place that started it all,
the other is, like, an empire,
and the other two are local favorites.
Herrine: We aren't just looking for hot chicken
that's spicy and hurts you;
we're looking for actual great flavor and bold seasoning.
Alana: Right, it has to be crunchy on the outside,
juicy on the inside, the whole shebang.
Herrine: I am so nervous!
Alana: Yeah, like, my insides are gonna probably
hate me after this. [laughs nervously]
Herrine: You and me both, but we're here to find out
which one's the best, so let's get going.
Alana: All right, let's go.
Herrine: To keep it fair,
we will be ordering the "hot" at each location.
Our first stop is Prince's Hot Chicken.
Legend has it that this is the birthplace
of the iconic Nashville dish.
Customer: It's hot! Boy, I'm cryin' now!
Customer: Prince's is better because it is
the original to Nashville
and it has the best story as to why it got started, as well.
Ms. André Prince: My great-uncle was a very outgoing,
out-of-the-box-type person.
Alana: This is Ms. André Prince.
She's the owner of Prince's,
and she carries on her great-uncle's legacy.
The story goes that he came home late one night
and his lover wasn't pleased.
She expressed her anger by cooking up some fried chicken,
but fiery chicken, to match her fury.
Ms. André: And he was probably taken back,
but after it settled in, he liked it.
Who wouldn't? [laughs]
Herrine: After that, Thorton Prince opened up a store
and sold hot chicken to customers.
Ms. André: More women eat it hot than men.
That's why it had to have started with a woman.
It's that fiery woman.
That fire coming out of her.
[grunts and laughs]
Alana: Prince's closely guards their recipe,
so unfortunately,
we couldn't make it back into the kitchen.
Ms. André: I gotta make a living, I got bills to pay!
[laughs]
The main thing is cayenne,
and that has gotten around. [laughs]
Most popular, of course, is the chicken breast,
breast quarter.
Herrine: Oh, my God, immediate tears!
Alana: I'm a fiery woman.
The flavor explodes, it's not just hot.
You need to try it, though.
You need to feel what I'm feeling.
Herrine: Here goes nothing!
Alana: Just go for it, don't even think about it.
Oh, no. No, you have to, oh my, no, Herrine!
It hits you later.
I wouldn't have probably taken that second bite.
Herrine: I'm doing OK. Alana: Really?
Herrine: Oh, the swallowing made it worse.
Alana: Well, yeah, that's how one eats.
[both laugh]
Herrine: And it hits your throat,
like, in my mouth it wasn't too bad.
Alana: Yeah.
I will say that some, like, fried-chicken spots
that I've been to
that say that they're spicy or hot,
I've noticed that the seasoning
is a little bit more on the salty side.
But for this one, I feel like it's perfectly balanced.
I don't think it's overly salty.
I definitely taste the cayenne.
The cayenne, to me, is, like, the most prominent flavor.
Herrine: That's the thing that's hitting your throat.
It kind of makes you cough a little bit.
[coughs]
I feel like the reason why hot chicken
became such a staple Nashville food
because it's addictive.
Like, as much as it's, like, painful--
Alana: It clears the sinuses, though.
Herrine: This is a great way to start off the whole trip.
Alana: Our second stop is Party Fowl,
a newer player in the hot-chicken game.
While the fiery fowl is the main attraction
at this place, it's also a full sit-down restaurant and bar.
Austin Smith: So, if you're gonna do hot chicken
in Nashville, one thing you need to do is kiss the ring.
And there's one person in town that you gotta pay homage to,
and that's Ms. André.
Well, with Nashville hot chicken being as great as it is,
it's starting to gain some popularity,
I saw there was no full service, full bar
Nashville hot chicken anywhere in the country,
and I went out to try to fix that.
So, the awards we've been given:
top five fried chicken in the United States of America,
we've gotten to film shows with Shaquille O'Neal,
and we've been on HBO.
I mean, we've really run the gamut.
We've been very blessed.
Customer: I know how good this place is,
she and I love it, come here all the time.
And we had to share it with our buddies from out of town.
That's all the hot chicken I've ever had.
It's all I need.
Austin: So, our classic way of serving hot chicken is
we cut the birds in half and we fry the half as it is.
The spices in our Nashville hot are gonna be your cayenne,
which is the most important part of Nashville hot chicken.
Habanero pure is what takes it to that next level.
It sings a different note on your palate,
and it really elevates that cayenne.
Most people use a thin piece of white bread.
Why Texas toast?
It's because it's bigger, it's thicker.
It sops up even more of that good mud.
We have three neons on the outside of our building:
Nashville Hot Chicken, Local Brews, and Boozy Slushies.
Boozy Slushies put the flame out.
My favorite one, though, for that, is the Bushwhacker.
The dairy, the chocolate, all those notes
really hammer down that spice.
Alana: OK. [exhales]
Herrine: I have heartburn.
[both laugh]
Alana: You could smell that there's, like, paprika there.
Both: Cayenne.
Herrine: They drizzled extra amount of, like,
that bottom spice on top for us.
Alana: So, a little extra somethin' somethin'.
Herrine: Yeah.
Alana: OK.
[crunch]
[clearing throat]
Alana: Drink! Drink one of these!
Herrine: I like it, but it hurts!
Alana: Is it helping at all?
Herrine: No!
[Alana laughs]
It makes it worse, it aggravates it!
Alana: This feels like the whole chicken.
Herrine: She's thick.
Alana: Mm-hmm.
[crunch]
[slo-mo crunch]
Herrine: [slo-mo] That's a good crunch.
How is it?
[Alana coughs]
Alana: The first bite, I [coughs].
[Herrine laughs]
The first bite I got
was on the sweeter side, so I'm like,
Herrine, are you overexaggerating just a little bit?
And then, the flavors kinda
chilled on my tongue for a little bit.
It's kinda climbing up to my nose.
[breathes]
Herrine: I love how they double-bread it here.
It's so crunchy.
They might be new to the game,
like, compared to Prince's,
but the seasoning here is thicker.
I feel like there's more of, like, a granular texture to it.
And, for that reason, I feel like the seasoning
is a lot more pronounced.
Alana: Right.
Herrine: And it almost has, like, a sweeter,
smokier flavor than other hot chicken.
Alana: The sweetness allowed you
to take a breath and really taste the flavors
that are on it.
Herrine: It's just a good time.
The food's delicious,
and then you cool off with, like,
a boozy slushie, and by the end of it,
you're drinking this so much
that you're probably gonna get a little tipsy.
This makes just the hot chicken
that much more fun and enjoyable.
Our third stop is Hattie B's,
known for helping spread the hot-chicken frenzy
from Nashville and beyond,
with seven locations in four states.
Customer: The chicken is the best chicken in the world.
It is delicious.
I come here so much that I know all the staff.
They greet me by name.
Nick Bishop: The great thing about hot chicken
is that everybody does it differently.
At Hattie B's, our menu is rooted really
in a Southern meat-and-three,
which I think are as much Nashville as hot chicken is.
For us, we really wanted to have distinct heat levels,
so that there was a little something for everybody.
My opinion is that bone-in are the most traditional
and probably the best way to get it.
Our seasoning is absolutely a secret.
It incorporates a little bit of habanero,
but just a heavy dose of cayenne.
We try to think of the menu a little bit as, like,
what would pair well and help kinda bring the heat down
when you're suffering the most.
Herrine: If this was a side competition...
Alana: That would win? [laughs]
Nick: Some of the awards that we've got,
we've won best hot chicken in Nashville a couple times
in the reader's poll.
Alana: You look as happy as can be.
Herrine: Do I have something on my face?
Ooh, that's bad! That's...
[Alana laughs]
My lips are burning.
It, like, hits your nose.
Like...like, the back of your nose.
[crunching]
Alana: There's something sweet in here.
Brown sugar, maybe?
Herrine: Mmm.
Alana: I think there's like a slight
brown-sugary taste to it.
Herrine: That's a really good catch.
Alana: Yeah, and I think it's killing the heat
a little bit.
So, it's like, it's a slow crawl,
but even I feel like at its peak,
it's not unmanageable.
Overall, this is deliciously seasoned,
super crispy, the meat itself is juicy,
no complaints on that.
If you could change one thing,
what do you think it'd be?
Herrine: I think, because I was expecting the hot
to be, like, really, really hot,
I wish that it was hotter. Alana: Mm-hmm.
Which means, I probably should've just ordered
the D--- Hot, instead of the Hot.
But, we're only going across the board as Hot.
Alana: We wanted to try the Shut the Cluck Up
before we left, just to see how hot Nashville really gets.
Both: Three, two, one.
[coughing]
Alana: It didn't hit her yet, it didn't hit her yet.
Herrine: Oh, it hurts so much!
[sobbing] Alana: Does it end?!
Does it end?!
Herrine: Our final stop is Pepperfire,
where the hot chicken is truly hot.
Like, HOT, in all caps.
And the hot chicken is done
in ways you won't see anywhere else.
Alana: My eyes are watering a little bit.
Herrine: Yeah.
Alana: My nose is running a little bit.
But I'm happy about it.
Customer: Been here probably at least once a month
for the last couple of years.
You can customize the flavor,
and also it's just really juicy.
Isaac Beard: What makes Pepperfire unique,
we've always been flavor first, heat second.
We definitely bring the heat, no doubt about that.
Today, we're gonna serve you
some original-style hot chicken.
We're gonna go breast quarters, leg quarters.
And we're gonna go hot.
And that's gonna be an amazing amount of heat,
and it'll still have a lot of flavor.
Herrine: Pepperfire makes their hot chicken
by first pouring a wet spice over the chicken.
Then, doubling up on that heat,
by dusting a generous amount of secret seasoning.
Alana: I feel so sorry for my esophagus, but here we go.
The seasonings definitely hit you first.
And then, oh, I feel it.
On the lip area.
[crunch]
That's like a ASMR crunch.
Herrine: It is.
Alana: You're sweating?
Herrine: I am sweating.
I can't tell if it's the 97 degrees in Nashville
or the chicken, but, you know.
Alana: Either way, it's a hot girl summer.
Herrine: What do you think goes into this seasoning?
Alana: Definitely cayenne.
Maybe vinegar on the liquid rub.
'Cause I'm getting a vinegary. Herrine: Can you smell that?
It made me cough.
Alana: That's the cayenne.
I feel like there's vinegar in there.
Can we know?
Herrine: There's no vinegar in here.
I think there's cumin in here.
Alana: Mmm, you're right, I think you're right.
You have a good palate.
Herrine: Thank you so much!
Alana: She does.
Herrine: So do you!
Except for the vinegar, you know, mistake. [laughs]
Herrine: We're here to pick the best of the best.
Do you have your pick?
Alana: I think I have one.
Herrine: I do, too.
Alana: All right, ready?
Herrine: Three, two, one.
Oh! OK, great. Alana: OK. OK, yes.
Herrine: That was my second pick.
I picked Prince's not only because the recipe
was just delicious, I can understand why it is top secret.
The chicken was super-duper juicy,
the skin was still crunchy on the outside,
and the seasoning,
I don't know what goes into that seasoning,
but it was so, so good.
Alana: I almost picked Prince's for the same reasonings.
That seasoning is incomparable.
However, the reason why I picked Party Fowl
is because there were other elements
that I felt like shone a tiny bit more.
Party Fowl had a crunchier skin,
it was double-fried.
Second of all, the heat on Party Fowl's chicken
was just like, they brought it.
That was a true Nashville hot.
Also, they served it with Texas toast.
That's why I had to pick Party Fowl.
Herrine: I totally forgot about that Texas toast,
and also, I realized at Party Fowl,
they scooped up that bottom seasoning,
gave it that extra oomph.
So, as much as Prince's is a place
that you have to go when you go to Nashville,
Party Fowl, yeah, I'm gonna switch over to Alana
and agree that Party Fowl is the best.
So, what do you guys think?
Do you think that Prince's should have been
the best of the best, or do you agree
that Party Fowl ultimately is the winner?
Alana: Or do you think it should have been Pepperfire
or Hattie B's, or a place we didn't even go to?
Herrine: Let us know in the comment section below.
See ya! Alana: Bye!
[whimpering]
Alana: A little ice cream.
[laughing]
[slurping]
Oh, yeah.