Nashville’s famous hot chicken at Hattie B’s

My second notable gastronomic adventure in Nashville was hot chicken. This Nashville stuff is so famous, even KFC released its own version.There are multiple Hattie B outposts, but my friend and I went to the centrally located one. You order at the counter and specify your preferred heat level—the brave can go all the way up the fire scale to “damn hot and, even hotter, "shut the cluck up."” I went with medium while my Korean friend went with hot. Even the medium was pretty spicy, and I ended up giving my chicken to my friend and ordering a mild instead. Apparently, there’s a level even below mild (called “southern”), so I didn’t feel so pansy.I must say, though, this was probably the best southern fried chicken I’ve ever had. I got the leg and thigh (dark meat always and forever!), and it was juicy with a perfectly seasoned and crispy coating of fried batter. The sides were excellent, too. We had the pimento mac-’n-cheese, cole slaw, braised greens, and potato salad. My favorites were the mac-’n-cheese and potato salad (leave it to me to love the least healthy sides).Fried chicken is one of my favorite foods, and at Hattie B’s, where the service is friendly and the beer plenty, I was a happy belle. If you’re going to try one thing in Nashville, it should be hot chicken. Whether you go to Hattie B’s or not, that’s up to you. Let me know if you’ve had better hot chicken elsewhere—I’d love to do a taste test.And if you can't wait to get yourself to Nashville for some hot chicken, here's a Serious Eats recipe for Hattie B's hot chicken.Hattie B’s Hot Chicken112 19th Ave. SNashville, TN 37203Phone: +1 615 678-4794(Multiple locations)