Joella’s hot chicken
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#JOELLA’S HOT CHICKEN MAC#
She opted for the "Tweener" level of (medium) heat, along with a side of mac 'n cheese and broccoli slaw. My girlfriend ordered a quarter white plate ($9): a breast and a wing served with two sides.
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We stepped in to find the place split into two large dining rooms decorated with reclaimed wood paneling and photos that pay homage to the restaurant owner's parents, who themselves owned a Southern-fried chicken restaurant in Lexington, helmed by two star employees, Joe and Ms. Joella's sits on the corner of a strip mall off the Buttermilk Pike exit, near Dunkin' Donuts. How did they stack up?Ĭrescent Springs, KY Joella's Hot Chicken Still, the points are below.įifty possible points were up for grabs, split among five categories: presentation, chicken taste, side dishes, drinks and ambiance. I tried to quantify this and come up with a "winner" between the two using a point system, but it was essentially a wash. In terms of atmosphere and quality, both are about equal, with various hits and misses at both restaurants. There are also chicken tender sandwiches and a host of side items, including fries, broccoli slaw, kale salad, hash brown casserole, cornbread, mac 'n cheese and a black-eyed pea salad called "Tennessee Caviar." They both feature the southern Chicken and Waffles classic combo with a choice of a side and either a breast quarter, leg quarter, wings or tenders. White and dark meat chicken quarter or boneless tender plates are featured with a choice of up to six spice levels. Joella's opened a month later.īoth businesses offer similar menus and food is ordered at the counter. Surely one business had caught wind of the other, right? But Krikorian says he had no idea Joella's was coming, and his business was the first to open in February. The fact that there are suddenly two Nashville-style hot chicken restaurants a stone's throw from each other off the Buttermilk Pike exit in Crescent Springs is suspect. Now the Cincinnati area gets not one, but two opportunities to try this Nashville phenomenon: Joella's Hot Chicken, a small regional chain based out of Louisville, and Nashville Hot, a restaurant founded by former Tom + Chee president and politician David Krikorian. Thornton and his relatives set the standard for the area tradition, which lives on as Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville. Alas, the plan backfired: Thornton loved the concoction so much that he perfected the recipe and started his own BBQ chicken shack featuring the spicy meat. Take Nashville hot chicken, a spicy, Southern-fried style allegedly first created by Thornton Prince's vengeful girlfriend who, fed up with his womanizing, slathered his breakfast chicken in a thick paste of lard and cayenne pepper so concentrated that she thought it would surely evoke screams of agony.