Friday, November 19, 2010
Restaurant openings Fire in the Hole! Pepperfire Spiced Chicken Opens on Gallatin Pike
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 8:44 AM
It's probably unfair to talk too much about the food on their first day, but in fact it was pretty darned respectable. The menu has the expected offerings of breast quarter and leg quarter sandwiches served on two slices of Colonial white bread and some pickles. You can also get jumbo wings or chicken tenders with the same hot chicken preparation, with prices ranging between $4 to $7.50 per plate. The side dishes didn't look like they were made in-house in the tiny kitchen, but the creamy slaw did help take the edge off the heat. Baked beans, fries and potato salad are also available for $2 each.
The hot chicken dishes are available in five heat levels, Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot and the redundantly hyperbolic Extra Extra Hot. All items are made to order in a deep fryer, so expect 7 to 10 minutes from order to the window. The breading for each heat level is identical, with the spice coming from a proprietary sauce and seasoning added by tossing the pieces in a bowl after cooking.
I asked owner Isaac Beard to compare his 1-5 heat scale with other hot chickens in town and he said that 400 Degrees' hottest level was probably the best match to his Extra Hot. The competitor's 100° version equated to Pepperfire's Medium and their 200° would be Isaac's Hot. Level 5 is supposed to be over-the-top spicy.
In the interest of science, I ordered a half-dozen wings split between levels 2,3 and 4. The breading was quite good and the fry job was perfect. Cooked all the way to the middle without a hint of purple at the bone, the wings maintained a moistness inside their spicy crust. Maybe it was the fact that I ordered wings instead of a breast quarter, but I would say that Isaac overestimated his spice level on each step of the scale. Perhaps the lack of extra surface area prevented me from experiencing the additive effect of a large sandwich. I'd put his Extra Hot at somewhere between Prince's Medium and Hot. Next time I may make the jump to Extra Extra, providing I don't have any plane travel scheduled for the next 24 hours.
To Pepperfire's credit, the flavors of the chicken and the sauce were not completely buried under the heat of the peppers, but I still got a little taste of that delightful face-numbing capsaicin buzz. Hot chicken aficionados know that personal preference is everything when comparing your volcanic poultry options around town. I'm glad that there is yet another choice, and will definitely be back soon for another visit to Pepperfire.
Pepperfire Spiced Chicken
Open 11 .am. to 7 p.m. every day except Wednesdays
2821 Gallatin Pike
Comments (19)
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Thank you for alerting us to new hot chicken place, and potential new vendor at the 2011 Hot Chicken Festival, aka HCFV. We will convene a steering committee meeting soon to sample Pepperfire. I will make an early scouting trip this weekend.
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Also new in the area: Lee's Philly Cheese Steaks just south of this place ~ 2615 Gallatin. In the former Dominos Pizza and right next to the Fat Mo's drive thru..
I wondered what they were doing with the old Phil's space. It's a really cute little restaurant. I like the addition of the covered patio. I will definitely be trying out those wings.
Hero- Thanks for the heads up about Lee's. I love cheesesteaks! And it's 10 min. from my house. I'm gonna head over there for lunch tomorrow.
Oh lord, as a Philly girl please don't tease about the cheese steaks. Just because you say you are, doesn't mean you are. I have never once tasted one outside PA or DE that was decent. It's the bread for starters. Before the bread, it's the water.
A field trip to Gallatin Road is clealry in order pronto.
Tried it today. My two cents: The heat levels don't really rival Prince's or 400 Degrees, but that's really not a drawback for me, as I'm not a "hot" guy anyway. I always order medium at Prince's and 400. The spiciness also wasn't quite as complex as the aforementioned places, but it was a very moist and flavorful piece of chicken. The beans were good, slaw was a little sweet for my tastes. Really liked the wings, and the fried peppercheese sandwich, decadent as it sounds, was quite a hit among my co-workers. I will definitely go back, and it's convenient for me. If you are a "medium" person at Prince's or 400, you might want to go "hot" here. And they've only been open two days now, so I'm sure the spice levels may get tweaked as time goes on. But it's definitely worth a visit.
I've never been to Philly or the surrounding areas, so my standards are pretty low for a cheesesteak. I know what you mean though Kay. New Orleans is my home away from home, and no po-boy has ever lived up to what you can get in Nola. I don't even try anymore. And yes, I've been to Bro's & it's just not the same. I think it's the humidity. Or the decadence. Or perhaps the 2 lbs of fried shrimp/oysters/calamari they put on them in New Orleans.
I just had lunch from here. Breast quarter, extra hot, and fries.
I would say the extra hot was very similar to Prince's hot. I enjoyed it immensely. Seems like a very nice guy as well.
37115- I see (assume) you live in Madison. Me too! Have you tried the new caribbean restaurant that opened recently? It's called Montego Bay. I haven't been, but I'm curious.
@ Shannon - I haven't tried it yet. I intended to this week, but the pastor quesadilla from the cart in the same parking lot caught my eye first. I also am curious.
I'll let you go first (since it's in the old Jenna's Toybox locale).
I've never even had a cheesesteak in Philadelphia, but even by my uninformed standards, 90% of the cheesesteaks that I come across in Nashville are terrible. My favorite one is from Penn Station in Bellevue. I know the fact that they use provolone instead of Cheez Whiz makes it less than authentic, but I think it works. And I think the bread is what makes it great. Can't wait to try one in Philly someday!
Cheesesteaks around here are about as crediblel as 98% of the barbecue up there!
Went to Lee's Philly Cheese Steak today. Sigh. First clue this would not be the Philly Cheese Steak experience: "Beef cheese steak sandwich with lettuce, tomato, fried onions, mayo and Swiss cheese." Mayo?? Lettuce and tomato?? Second clue: choice of spicy or regular. Wha? Third clue: other menu items including pork chop sandwich, fish sandwiches and fried chicken. So, my expectations were low. The bad news: It's not a Philly cheese steak, not by a long shot. The meat for starters is cut so thick. On real Philly cheese steaks, the beef is practically shaved it's so thin. The good news? It's not a bad sandwich--I asked for it minus the lettuce, tomato and mayo, and requested it spicy, which meant a pile of jalapeno peppers. I've had lots of faux cheese steaks, but's the first one ever with japapeno peppers. The people behind the counter (order out only) were very nice and it was quick.
Likewise, the people at Pepperfire couldn't have been nicer. It was a beautiful day so tables on the covered patio were pretty full. I got a breast and asked for it hot. The chicken was plump and pretty, with a nice ruddy color and crisp skin, meat moist. Their hot was equivalent to Prince's medium I would say. Mine was on some kind of wheaty bread, which I didn't like. Gimme the good old spongy white Colonial or Bunny bread, chock full of additives. It's not like the wheat bread will offset the the damage of fried chicken. But I am very pleased with Pepperfire, it's not easy to come into Hot Chicken World and give it a shot. I will get the Hot Chicken Festival Steering Committee out for a visit soon and hope Pepperfire might consider participating next year. God knows we could use some help with those pesky lines. A very welcome addition to the category.
Back when Philly boy P.J. Tobia was writing for the Scene, he once boarded a plane in his hometown with a real Philly cheese steak from Dalessandro's and brought it straight to our office. Un. Freakin'. Believable. Before that, I'd had Nashville's approximation of a cheese steak and thought it was OK. Ever since, though, I haven't even bothered trying the ones around here. I'll just have to hope some homesick Philadelphian rises to the challenge and opens his own joint.
Pepperfire isn't the place to go for heat, but for some folks that would be an attraction. We tried it the other day, and it satisfied the first order of business: it's really good fried chicken.
I went to Lee's for lunch yesterday. I wasn't looking for an authentic philly experience, so I opted for the chicken cheese steak w/ swiss, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions & mayo. It was a very good sandwich. And huge! Nice chunks of sauteed chicken, made to order and wrapped up tight so the roll got nice & steamy. Like Kay said, the folks were nice & they got the food out quickly. I will definitely be back. Might try the whiting fish sandwich next.
I think I could have squeezed in 'nice' a few more times in my review. Maybe I should read these things a little more closely before posting.
there used to be a real philly cheese steak place north of town. i think it might have been up dickerson road somewhere...or maybe hendersonville or millersville..somewhere odd. it had a review in nashville it was a little diner type place. does anyone know what i mean. i have relatives and friends in philly and i have routinely brought back phillies here when i go there to visit. even cold they are to be tried. my friends and relatives from philly said that this place north of town was legit.
i like different versions of a philli steak too (im not from there originally). im sure i would like the new place. it sounds like a good place for a sandwich.
i hope the hot chicken place does well. i used to really like phils when it was there.
