It definitely looks the part
We all know that Nashville hot chicken has entered the national food zeitgeist, showing up in menus all over the country and in multiple odes written by famous chefs and food writers. But Fonzie may be reaching the apex of his Selachiial vault (look it up) now that our unique spicy creations have found their way to fast-food and fast-casual menus.
Sean Pritchard warned us of the coming apocalypse when KFC started to experiment with its Nashville Hot Chicken in limited markets with promises eventually to roll out the dish nationwide. Pittsburgh still seems to be the only city currently being inflicted and afflicted with this potential abomination, but two locally based restaurants, Captain D's and O'Charley's, are pushing forward with their own versions of Nashville Hotness.
Captain D's challenges diners with the slogan, "Don't be chicken. Try our Nashville Hot Fish!" All right then, Captain. I'm your huckleberry. I figured I'd try it out so you don't have to. Currently available for a limited time in more than 60 outlets of the fast-food fishery in Nashville, Jacksonville, Fla., and St. Louis, Captain D's Nashville Hot Fish is a whitefish fillet served open-faced on a sliced French roll with pickles, hush puppies and your choice of two sides for $4.99. But how crunk is it?
In truth, it's not that bad, especially for the money. The fillet is basically the same as the restaurant's normal "country-style" fried fish, as opposed to the more tempura-like batter than covers their traditional offering. The piece of fish I tried was definitely ample-sized, stretching from one end of the 10-inch plate to the other. The spicy seasoning was a decent representation of the traditional local Satan's sprinkle, heavy on the cayenne with maybe a little paprika and garlic powder joining the party. Unlike at a real hot fish joint like Bolton's or my personal favorite, Ed's Fish & Pizza House, the seasoning was spread very unevenly across the fish. This haphazard application led to a variation in heat level from bite to bite, but to be fair, it was fast food from a drive-through.
The fish was really well fried and appropriately crispy, and I've always preferred D's country-style version anyway. If I were eating at the Captain's again, and there wouldn't even have to be a gun pointing at me or anything, I'd probably order the Nashville Hot version over anything else on the menu. Although any thoughts of true authenticity must be discounted since it doesn't come with raw white onions or mustard, just a couple of pickles on top. Sometimes a sandwich is just a sandwich.
The latest chain to jump on the Nashville Hot bandwagon is O'Charley's, which announced the addition of a Hot Chicken Sandwich to their fare as part of a new new roll-out of a new Southern-inspired menu. The company is apparently embracing its local roots. “O’Charley’s was built on Southern hospitality and cuisine, and those are two traditions we continue to carry on today,” said O’Charley’s president, Ned Lidvall. “We tapped into our roots to shape this new Southern-Inspired Menu, featuring Nashville Hot Chicken, and are excited to share these authentic flavors with our guests.”
The $9.99 Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich comes with one side dish and is so new to the restaurant that neither I nor my server at the White Bridge Road location could find it on the menu. Determined to try it out, we eventually located it (there was a picture, duh) and I placed my order. It is described as "A Nashville original. Deep-fried boneless chicken breast that has been basted with our spicy hot chicken sauce, stacked on our Southern Coleslaw, topped with dill pickles and served on a toasted brioche bun. Served with hot, seasoned fries." For the most part, that description was fairly accurate except for the little fact that I don't think my fries were actually seasoned with anything.
The sandwich certainly looked authentic: fiery crimson with a nice contrast from the crisp, bright-green thick pickle slices. The bun was toasted, something I don't necessarily recall being the case at most of my favorite hot chicken haunts, and actually my particular brioche was a little burnt, adding a bit of bitterness to the bite. That was vaguely unpleasant, but this isn't a Michelin review. At least the toasted bread stood up better to the creamy cole slaw and oily drippings of the chicken.
About that cole slaw. I've never added cole slaw to a hot chicken sandwich, but I might consider doing so in the future. While the flavor of the slaw dressing was certainly overpowered by the heat of the chicken, it did add a nice bit of texture contrast and a slight cooling element to the sandwich. I liked it even better than slaw on a barbecue shoulder sandwich.
But enough about the accoutrements, Chamberlain! How was the damned bird?! I may lose my membership in the Fraternal Order of Hot Chicken for saying this, but it was pretty acceptable. Decent even. (Sorry, FOHCers.) It's more of an homage to the legendary Nashville dish than an attempt to replicate the hottest of the hot — O'Chuck's has come up with an approximation of the iconic specialty that walks the line between dull and too hot for the general public. I remember hearing from one of the owners of Amerigo that after they introduced a creamy hot chicken pasta special at their Nashville location, they tried to roll it out in Brentwood. The return rate was something over 50 percent, as Williamson County diners were apparently not inured to Nashville Hot yet.
So O'Charley's apparently aimed at something that would definitely let you know you were eating something more than just a typical spicy Cajun chicken sandwich or something pedestrian like that. But they also understand the limitations of fast-casual diners, so the heat level is just enough to break a little sweat without making it unsafe to go to the bathroom without washing your hands beforehand, if you know what I mean. I'd rate it at about a Hattie B's Medium Minus.
In fact, I'd guess that the research chefs at O'Charley's probably got a few orders from Hattie B's to take back to the lab, because the flavor profile exhibits a very similar sweet/heat balance as the lower levels of Hattie B's hell. The use of a plump breast instead of the traditional bone-in quarter bird is also in line with the sandwich that Hattie B's has been selling out of their food truck at Ascend Amphitheater events, and the OC team did manage to achieve a nice crispy crunch without drying out the breast inside the crust. The thin sauce that dripped off the bottom of the sandwich onto my plate was a dead giveaway that O'Charley's probably uses oil instead of lard to make its spice paste, a wholly understandable substitution considering that they have to report caloric figures for their dishes. And that they don't want to kill off potential customers and stockholders in case they sandwich takes off as a menu item. On the whole, it was a passable approximation of authentic Nashville Hot Chicken. Just not that hot.
Would I skip over one of the more traditional hot chicken joints for an O'Chuck's sammich? Nah, not given that there are so many great options in town that I can hardly visit all my favorites often enough without flaring up my lower GI system. But if I had a hankering for some semi-hot chicken, and I was dining with a group of folks who weren't necessarily up to ride the snake with me, they could just order one of those endless lettuce wedges while I indulge my urges. Maybe they'll be willing to share a little roughage to help a brother out.
