Nashville hot chicken – Michael Eats

Nashville Hot Chicken at Knockout Chicken

Published on July 23, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 207 Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://knockoutchickento.com/

Knockout Chicken has been serving up fried chicken sandwiches in Kensington Market for a few years now (they also have a location in Mississauga), and yeah, I can see why they have staying power. Their fried chicken is pretty solid.

They have a whole bunch of sandwiches on the menu, but the woman behind the counter said the Nashville Sandwich is the most popular (“Nashville-style fried chicken breast, homemade coleslaw, pickles, jalapenos, and chipotle aioli”), so that’s what I got.

It’s not the crispiest or the juiciest fried chicken I’ve ever had, but I enjoyed it. It’s got a decent kick to it, it’s nice and flavourful, and the slightly sweet bun suits it well. It’s got a bit more going on than you’d expect from Nashville hot chicken, but for the most part, it works.

My only real issue here is with the coleslaw, which tastes heavily of sour cream and is a bit one-note rich. I think the sandwich would have been improved with less (or none) of this stuff, but everything else was tasty enough that this wasn’t a huge deal.

Quick Bites: Union Chicken, Poke Poke, Bake Code

Published on June 16, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Nashville Lightning Hot sandwich from Union Chicken

I had the Buffalo chicken sandwich from Union back in 2019 and found it to be absolutely delightful; well, I recently tried the Nashville hot chicken sandwich, and yeah, it’s very, very good. It’s got that same addictive combo of exterior crunchiness and interior juiciness, and it’s really tasty, with a nice zippy flavour that cuts through the richness of the chicken. The toasted bread it comes on was a bit dry/boring, and I wish the sandwich were spicier (it’s barely hotter than mild), but overall it’s a superlative fried chicken sandwich.

Poke from Poke Poke

Poke Poke is thoroughly okay. I had the O.G. bowl (“classic salmon, seaweed salad,
avocado, corn, edamame, masago”) on white rice (brown rice, cauliflower rice, greens, and noodles are also choices), and it was perfectly tasty. Nothing about it particularly blew me away (it’s a bit overstuffed with toppings and understuffed with salmon — given that it came up to just over twenty bucks with tax, a more generous helping of fish would have been nice), but I’m not mad I ate it.

Salted Egg Yolk Croissant from Bake Code

I tried the PB&J croissant from Bake Code a few years ago and enjoyed it, though I found the croissant itself to be just okay. I have very similar thoughts about the salted egg yolk croissant, which features a generous amount of tasty, custardy filling, but is otherwise nothing too mind-blowing. I’m also not convinced that a croissant is a better vehicle for this particular filling than a more traditional bun, but I can’t deny that it’s tasty.

Tasty Fried Chicken at Ghost Chicken

Published on June 7, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 74 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://ghostchicken.ca/

I think you could make the argument that the city has too many places that specialize in fried chicken sandwiches. I’m not saying I would, but someone could make that argument.

My counterpoint: fried chicken sandwiches are delicious and there should be a restaurant selling them on every block.

Ghost Chicken serves a variety of chicken sandwiches, along with wings, chicken strips, and a handful of sides. I went with the Nashville: “fried chicken thigh, Nashville spice blend & oil, sweet pickles, choice of heat: medium, hot, fire.”

It’s a solid fried chicken sandwich. It’s nice and crispy, generously sized, and the chicken itself is pleasantly juicy. The slightly sweet, fresh bun suits it well.

I wish it were a bit more flavourful, though. The chicken is a bit underseasoned, and even the pickles don’t add the zinginess you’re hoping for (I think maybe they weren’t quite pickled enough? They tasted mostly like soft cucumber slices). I ordered the “fire” level of spiciness, and while it did have somewhat of a kick, it didn’t put any sweat on my brow.

Still, it’s generally a well-prepared fried chicken sandwich; it’s hard to go wrong there, even if the flavours could have been amped up a bit.

Satisfying Fried Chicken at Burger Legend

Published on March 18, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1086 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://burgerlegend.ca/

Burger Legend recently opened a new location in Etobicoke; I tried the burger at their original Streetsville location a few years ago, and thought it was pretty solid.

I had the fried chicken sandwich this time, which they serve in various styles (Buffalo, Nashville, Cajun, etc.). I ordered the Nashville hot chicken, and it was pretty tasty.

It’s very hard to go wrong with a crispy, freshly-fried piece of fried chicken, and yeah, it was quite good. The white meat was a bit on the dry side and the chicken itself was underseasoned, but it was otherwise a solid fried chicken sandwich.

It is, as you’d hope from Nashville hot chicken, pretty spicy. It’s not going to blow your face off, but the spice level is noticeable. It’s topped with coleslaw and something they call “Bawss sauce,” and both are quite tasty and complement the chicken well. They also do a pretty good job of bringing the chicken some much-needed flavour.

The nicely toasted bun is soft, fresh, and holds up nicely to the substantial piece of chicken. It’s not a sandwich that’s going to rock anyone’s world, but it’s thoroughly tasty.

Szechuan x Nashville Hot Sandwich at Chen Chen’s Nashville Hot Chicken

Published on October 27, 2021 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1184 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.chenchenshotchicken.com/

I recently tried the Nashville hot chicken sandwich at Chen Chen’s and found it to be a quality fried chicken sandwich that was spicy, but otherwise a bit on the bland side.

Well, clearly the Szechuan x Nashville sandwich is the way to go, because it’s thoroughly tasty — no seasoning issues here. And the fried chicken itself was just as good as last time, with a nicely crunchy exterior and a juicy interior.

I will say, however, that I’m not really sure what the sandwich does to deserve the “Szechuan” moniker; aside from a mild sweetness, it doesn’t taste all that different from standard Nashville hot chicken. I didn’t notice any numbing heat or any spicing that screams “Szechuan,” but hey — tasty is tasty. I enjoyed the sandwich. I’m not going to complain.

I also tried the sweet chili cauliflower, which the menu describes as “Fried Cauliflower tossed in sweet chili garlic sauce, topped with toasted sesame seeds, and green onions.” It’s really good — the sauce is sweet and a little bit spicy, and the cauliflower is crunchy on the outside and perfectly cooked on the inside (it’s tender but still has some bite — it’s not mushy at all).