Parson's chicken and waffles
A laid-back joint with a serious patio culture, Parson’s Chicken & Fish opened in Chicago in 2013, with a second location there in 2018. Now the team has opened the doors in Nashville's Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, making it the concept’s first non-Chicago restaurant. The restaurant serves fried chicken, fried fish, its own branded beer, shareable appetizers, and frozen alcoholic drinks that are the talk of the town.
“Chicago is four months — maybe — of good summertime hangs,” says executive chef and managing partner Hunter Moore of the decision to expand to Nashville. “Chicagoans respect the summer and try to get in as much as they can. In Nashville, it is a little more balanced.”
Moore hopes the new red-and-white restaurant on Chestnut Street will be a beacon for casual hangs weekends, a bar scene that serves food after work, as well as for a quick lunch before returning to the office. The menu offers four different frozen drinks, including a Negroni Slushy, a Dark and Stormy, and a Pisco Control.
“This is hot chicken nation. I did not come down to Nashville to say, ‘I am going to make the best hot chicken ever.’ I’m just poking my head the door and saying this is one thing I make that I think is tasty and delicious,” Moore says. The Parson’s hot chicken and other dishes are deep-fried, not pan-fried. The hot chicken is not so spicy that it is 'dare food,' he says. Chickens are not organic, but are minimally proceed, he adds.
Parson's frozen Negroni
While the drinks may be frozen, the fish isn't ever. (In fact, Parson’s doesn’t have a freezer). “We are selling a ton of fish. I did not expect to sell this much fish.” Moore thinks that's because in Nashville most of the fresh fish is at higher-end eateries. The menu is rounded out with oysters, salads, pimento cheese, and other expected sides. And, like the fried and hot chicken, Parson’s has menu items seen elsewhere in town, but it executes them well. The mac and cheese —certainly not in short supply in Nashville — is next-level: The pasta is not mushy and the cheese gratin top is perfectly charred.
While there is some indoor seating in the renovated space, both at the bar and at tables, the emphasis at Parson’s is on patio culture. (Wedgewood-Houston is becoming an outdoor dining hub, with B1281 Surf Club nearby.) The pet-friendly outdoor space includes a ping-pong table, big ceiling fans, and red-and-white striped umbrellas over picnic tables, making it a pleasant place to eat and drink, even in the dog days of summer as the train goes rumbling by.
Parson’s is open 11 a.m.-midnight, Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-2 a.m. on weekends. Initial lunch business has been brisker than the team had hoped. Moore says: “Our second day we did more sales than Lincoln Park!" referring to a bustling neighborhood in Chicago. He comments while wearing one of the brand’s signature “totally fried” hats. (A fun merch wall greets diners as they walk in.) Happy hour will be introduced soon.
