For those of you that are new to this process, or for those that have been here since the beginning and just realize it has been AGES since I posted one of these (I know…I know…mea culpa…and no, I’m not even going to bother apologizing again, just please know my absence in this space is b/c I have been writing A LOT elsewhere), the process is pretty simple.
When I travel, I try to make it a point to (1) never eat/stay anywhere that is a national chain*, (2) to take the ‘road less traveled’ as much possible**, and (3) to try to sample as much local fare as possible.
[ * – exceptions to this being Culver’s, which is just damn good, and I can’t get in Hawaii, and Chipotle, for the same reasons]
[** – man, I hate clichés]
Following this tried and true formula, I recently found myself back in Nashville visiting family and did something I’ve always wanted to.
Wandered my way into Prince’ Hot Chicken Shack.
For those of you that aren’t familiar, hot chicken is a Nashville staple. Think bagels or deli meats to New York City, deep dish pizza in Chicago, or mission burritos in San Fran. Hot chicken is THE THING in Nashville. (and do not get suckered into believing that junk KFC has recently started pedaling is anywhere near the real deal. It is an abomination in every way)
For those of you unfamiliar w/ Prince’s, it has what every solid establishment needs, and that is a great backstory. In this particular instance, the original Mr. Prince was quite the womanizer. In act of defiance, his lady friend at the time deigned to get back at him by cooking him the hottest chicken she could, lacing it heavily with hot peppers.
As we menfolk are often prone to doing though, the message went right over his head, the takeaway being that it was tasty and he enjoyed it.
Thus was born a legend.
In the time since, Man v. Food, Bizarre Foods, and a host of other television programs have all stopped by to visit the place, and none have left with anything less than glowing reviews to share.
Taken together, that’s gospel.
The way that we ended up strolling in last weekend was also an accident, as we had every intention of heading elsewhere for the evening, but got sucked into the Final Four. As such, we found it too late to do much, but both hungry.
Enter Prince’s.
For those that have never been, I can’t imagine a better way to experience than the way we did, which was at 11pm on Saturday night. The reason being that the people watching was utterly amazing, topping even Nashville International Airport. Ranging from a bride and groom fresh from their nuptials to a family of recent immigrants from Iran, we encountered every sort of person under the sun, all brought together in the name of good eats.
And let me tell you…the food did not disappoint. Bar none, best fried chicken I have ever had.(and luckily, you can pick your own heat level, ranging from non-existent, all the way to XXXL)
Go. You won’t be disappointed.
