Thornton Prince of Nashville, Tennessee was a noted womanizer. Back in the 40’s and 50’s he was known to stay out all hours of the night philandering. After one particular night out gallivanting around town he returned home to his girlfriend. Fed up, she figured she’d fix his little red wagon. She whipped up a breakfast consisting of his favourite dish, fried chicken. There was however a little surprise. She’d laced it with cayenne pepper. Unfortunately the joke ended up on her. Prince loved it so much he tinkered with it and started selling it in his restaurant. A local legend was born. Everyone has now heard of Prince Thornton and no one knows his girlfriend’s name.
While there is no way to verify this anecdote the simple fact is, it’s way too good a story and as far as I’m concerned, can now be considered the genesis of Nashville Hot Chicken. A subsection of fried chicken. Though they say the current incarnation only dates back to the 70’s, Thornton's idea of incinerating peoples mouths with fried chicken still remains.
There are no less than a half dozen places that serve only hot chicken and a number of others who have it as a menu option. Of course, every restaurant will make it a bit different but the basics are pretty much the same. As you can well imagine, recipes are guarded like state secrets. A couple things you can be sure of are that the chicken is marinated in a molten liquid and finished with a fiery paste. It’s served on white bread and topped with pickles. The word is that Prince’s puts cayenne in just about every step of the process. From the dredges right down to the cooking oil. The specimens at Prince’s are fried up in a cast iron skillet.
Stories of this fiery chicken are the stuff of legend. "Some guy came in here once and ordered the extra hot chicken. He said it filled him up, cleared his sinuses, and killed his Athlete's Foot." Another story sees one man not showing up for work for 2 days after consuming the Extra Hot version. Supposedly there's no shortage of people who, um, bite off more than they can chew as it were and have to make a mad dash outside to, shall we say, divest themselves of their meal. I read that one customer brings a half gallon of chocolate milk with him. Ya, it's freakin' hot.
Prince’s is located in a strip mall about a mile off I 65 in the Brooklyn Heights neighbourhood. Their hours are mostly geared towards the late night, after the bars close crowd. Word is, it can get pretty crazy by the time they wind things down around 4am. Thornton himself is long gone but his great niece, Andre Prince Jefferies now runs it. Soon, it’ll be passed along to her daughter.
There’s seating for about two dozen and a number of chairs for those who are taking away to wait. You go up to the window behind the Cake Lady and place your order. Then you wait. And wait. It’s so busy they just crank it out piece after piece after piece. Every piece of chicken they serve is fresh cooked. Mostly because it’s all they can do to keep up with demand.
When I first started this little blog I began searching for places to visit. Prince’s immediately turned up and went to the top of the list. Sadly, it took me almost 4 years to finally make it. Well, let me tell ya, I’m sorry I didn’t make it sooner. It was well worth the wait. Let’s have a look.
There are a few different sides from which to choose. Mrs. Sippi decided she wanted beans. Pretty much your standard pork and beans done very nicely. We can’t decide if they were doctored, canned beans or made from scratch. I asked and just got a smile. Whatever their pedigree, they were very good. The gravy was a little thinner than usual and a little sweeter.
The chicken comes in 4 different heat levels. Mild, Medium, Hot and Extra Hot. It also comes in quarters, halves or whole. We ordered 3 hind quarters in the mild, medium and hot heat levels. Each comes pinned, with some pickles, to some white bread by a tooth pick. The pickles were quite good and I didn’t bother with the bread. (cw from bottom right: mild, medium, hot)
The chicken is rather salty but definitely in a good way. The heat isn’t just in that crispy coating but all the way through. If you could eat the bones I’m sure you’d find them spicy too. Honestly, this stuff really isn’t for the timid. It’s all about fire so caveat emptor.
What most wing places would parade out as medium, Prince’s calls mild. Easily hot enough to discourage those not into the spicy stuff. At this level the saltiness in the spice blend really stood out. All in all, really good but this chicken was too mild.
The hot was absolutely Blazing. While I’ve eaten hotter things, this was close. Way hotter than what you might expect. At this heat level I found the spicing and chicken flavour were overpowered by the heat. This chicken was too hot.
The medium was the perfect balance of heat, spice and chicken. This chicken was juuuuust right.
I suggest making sure there’s room for dessert. The Cake Lady (Irene. That’s her daughter in the picture) makes several varieties and if the two samples we had were any indication, they’re all good. The thing is, I dove into a piece of cake and by the time I surfaced the raging inferno in my mouth was gone. The cake had put the fire out. So let’s have a look at what we had.
The Cream Cheese Chess Square is basically a chess pie made into a sheet cake and cut into squares. The cream cheese added a bit of flavour and some structure. It wasn’t as custardy as the Chess Pie I make but it was mighty tasty.
The Mississippi Mud Cake was phenomenal. A nice chocolate, almost brownie like, cake topped with fluff and covered in a rich chocolate icing. There were a few pecans on top that I let Mrs. Sippi have. Being a chocoholic I absolutely loved it.
Well there you have it folks. The dish that put Nashville on the fired chicken map.
You can find Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack at 123 Ewing Dr in Nashville, Tn.
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You can also find them on facebook.
Well that’s all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court. Now where’s that Alka-Seltzer??
Davwud
Call it a submarine, a hoagie or a grinder. A sandwich on a long bun loaded with everything from meats, to cheeses to vegetables. In New Orleans they call it a “Po’ Boy.” Served on a French style baguette these sandwiches are filled with either fried seafood, roast beef or sausage. They are “dressed” with tomato, lettuce and mayo with pickle and onion being optional. Mustard, usually creole, is smeared on when the sandwich isn’t of the seafood variety.
Po’ boys are rumoured to have been invented in 1929 by one time trolley conductor, Clovis Martin at the family restaurant during a streetcar strike. Martin served his former colleagues, known to restaurant workers as “Poor boys” free sandwiches during the 4 month strike. The sandwich would earn the nickname and with the “Nawlin’s” drawl being what it is, is forever known as the “Po’ Boy.”
For Slidel, Louisiana native Donnie Thigpen the restaurant business was not his game. He was a builder. Settled in Huntsville, Alabama with his wife Marie (yes Donnie and Marie) they decided that the restaurant scene was lacking in the food on which Donnie grew up. With only a dream in their hearts, they opened a small New Orleans style café in an old house that would serve the staple food, po’ boys. Initially the only two employees, Donnie manned the grill and the effervescent Marie undertook the rest of the operation. Slowly, steadily the word got out. Business improved. And improved. So much so that an addition to the main building would follow. A second building next door was purchased to handle over flow on weekends and a large full time staff is now employed.
The Thigpens, are committed to high quality food at reasonable prices. They import as much from Louisiana as possible and make the rest. Making the 12 hour trek to Patton’s in Louisiana for the hot sausage for example. Their own “Hot damn” sauce made the al.com list of Huntsville’s “20 Most Distinctive Dishes” this last summer. We had a short wait at lunch before being seated. The efficient staff keeps things moving at a pretty good pace. The cozy dining room is practically a shrine to all things Louisiana, New Orleans and LSU Football. The non descript building outside is a dress in Mardi Gras style.
So without any further adieu.
We both had the Scruffy’s Special. A sandwich (which comes with fries) and choice of side. You can’t go to the Po’ Boy Factory and not order po’ boys right??
I went with the spicy sausage and gumbo side with Mrs. Sippi selecting the crawfish and ettouffee side. The crawfish is a little milder flavour than I’m used to and was nicely battered. The sandwich came with lettuce, tomato, mayo and was very good. I loved the baguette. Soft enough that the innards didn’t squirt out the back yet still chewy enough.
The ettouffee was fantastic. Nice and rich with a good shrimp flavour to it. A touch of Tabasco complemented it perfectly.
The sausage was just plain excellent. Patton’s sausage is almost a staple in southern Louisiana and it’s no wonder why. Not overly hot but very seasoned it just plain tasty. The bread is of course the same and as it was not a seafood po’ boy came with creole mustard. I added some of the hot damn sauce as well.
The gumbo was nice and complex with a good amount of chicken and shrimp. It too was complemented nicely by a few shots of Tabasco.
I wish I could say the “Hot Damn” sauce was damn hot but alas it’s not. It had a subtle afterbite but Marie assures me that as it ages it gets hotter. The mayo based sauce was made that morning and a batch will last at least a couple days. By the time the next day rolls around she says it’s very potent.
We skipped desert but a gorgeous looking chocolate layer cake was on display at the counter. Next time perhaps.
You can find The Po’ Boy Factory at 815 Andrew Jackson Way in Huntsville, Alabama.
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You can also visit them on the web or become a Facebook Friend.
Well that's all for now, see you next time in the food court.
Davwud
For anyone who loves to cook, the dream of some day opening their own place never dies. Most people though never act on it. The reasons will vary from fear of failure to job security. It would be difficult to give up everything you have to venture into the restaurant business. It’s a cruel and unforgiving trade. Most don’t make it.
In 1970 when Jeslin Needham immigrated to Canada opening a restaurant was simply a dream. Trying to establish yourself in a new country and raise a family isn’t a time to gamble. Thought she was always in the kitchen preparing dinner, readying for back yard BBQ’s or family gatherings job security was important. So she took a job at an accounting firm. Ever the loyal employee, Jeslin toiled away at virtually the same job for some 30 years. Never getting ahead.
Finally in 2004 enough was enough. Tired of the long commute and same old boring job, Jeslin took the advice of her friends and family. “You should open your own place” they’d say so that’s precisely what she did. Taking the recipes she learned at the feet of her grandmother in Jamaica, she leased out a small unit in an industrial mall in Newmarket and started gaving the locals “A Taste of the Islands.”
Offering the best of Jamaica, A Taste of the Islands would build a loyal following which included myself. Business was such that her son Richard joined her within the first year. Together they served up the Jerk, Curry and stews that have made Jamaican food famous. Although doing well, the tiny take out place near Yonge and Mulock wasn’t THE dream. After five years of learning the business it was time to open a proper sit down restaurant. The new place is bigger with a proper dining room and an expanded menu with items such as Jerk Shrimp added. Soon there will be a liquor license and island drinks and beer will flow.
When it comes to the food, “Everything irie.”
I’ve had almost everything on the menu except for the new items. It’s all good and it’s all (just about) made on site. The only exceptions are the patties (Non Nisa/Tastee) and roti skins (hand made though).
The Oxtails are simply superb although not spicy. They have a rich gravy and are slow cooked until the meat is so tender. Oxtails aren’t for everyone though. They’re rather fatty which also makes them greasy. Greasy in a good way I say.
The Jerk Chicken is spicy, slightly salty and very robust. The chicken is slow roasted in the island spice paste until it’s fall apart tender. It had enough heat although if I were in the mood, I’d have kicked it up a bit.
The rice and peas that come with it are also very nicely cooked. The extra gravy we asked for went nicely with it without drowning. A fantastic fresh slaw accompanied our entrées.
Based on the fact that their Curry Chicken and Curry Goat are both great I can assume the roti is fabulous as well.
Once they’re in the swing of things at the new place, a Saturday special will alternate between Akee and Saltfish (the national dish of Jamaica) and Liver and Onions. The Akee as I can attest is fantastic. I do add a bit of hot sauce to mine as I like it a little hotter than they serve it.
They also carry a selection of island soft drinks including the favourite Ting.
You can find A Taste of the Islands at 16700 Bayview Ave. in Newmarket, Ontario.
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You can also find them on the web
Well that’s all for now.
Davwud
Thornton Prince of Nashville, Tennessee was a noted womanizer. Back in the 40’s and 50’s he was known to stay out all hours of the night philandering. After one particular night out gallivanting around town he returned home to his girlfriend. Fed up, she figured she’d fix his little red wagon. She whipped up a breakfast consisting of his favourite dish, fried chicken. There was however a little surprise. She’d laced it with cayenne pepper. Unfortunately the joke ended up on her. Prince loved it so much he tinkered with it and started selling it in his restaurant. A local legend was born. Everyone has now heard of Prince Thornton and no one knows his girlfriend’s name.
There’s seating for about two dozen and a number of chairs for those who are taking away to wait. You go up to the window behind the Cake Lady and place your order. Then you wait. And wait. It’s so busy they just crank it out piece after piece after piece. Every piece of chicken they serve is fresh cooked. Mostly because it’s all they can do to keep up with demand.
There are a few different sides from which to choose. Mrs. Sippi decided she wanted beans. Pretty much your standard pork and beans done very nicely. We can’t decide if they were doctored, canned beans or made from scratch. I asked and just got a smile. Whatever their pedigree, they were very good. The gravy was a little thinner than usual and a little sweeter.
The chicken comes in 4 different heat levels. Mild, Medium, Hot and Extra Hot. It also comes in quarters, halves or whole. We ordered 3 hind quarters in the mild, medium and hot heat levels. Each comes pinned, with some pickles, to some white bread by a tooth pick. The pickles were quite good and I didn’t bother with the bread. (cw from bottom right: mild, medium, hot)
I suggest making sure there’s room for dessert. The Cake Lady (Irene. That’s her daughter in the picture) makes several varieties and if the two samples we had were any indication, they’re all good. The thing is, I dove into a piece of cake and by the time I surfaced the raging inferno in my mouth was gone. The cake had put the fire out. So let’s have a look at what we had.
The Cream Cheese Chess Square is basically a chess pie made into a sheet cake and cut into squares. The cream cheese added a bit of flavour and some structure. It wasn’t as custardy as the Chess Pie I make but it was mighty tasty.
The Mississippi Mud Cake was phenomenal. A nice chocolate, almost brownie like, cake topped with fluff and covered in a rich chocolate icing. There were a few pecans on top that I let Mrs. Sippi have. Being a chocoholic I absolutely loved it.
