Nashville hot chicken is so trendy it’s probably not even cool anymore, but spicy food will always be popular and delicious, so I am always interested in trying fiery fried foods, especially of the chicken variety. (Note: Jimmy will also eat spicy fried shrimp, fish, quail, duck, and even tofu).
The spicy chicken of the Music City varietal is so ubiquitous, even chains like Jim ‘N Nick’s are getting in on the action, probably introducing it to a whole new group of meat eaters. As chains go, Jim ‘N Nicks is fairly respected (I mean c’mon, they raise their own pigs) , and they aren’t a cheasy mega-national burger chain. The flashy menu does have everything under the sun, and the restaurants themselves (which do feature drive-thrus) definitely feels corporate and breezy, but they do a good job on just about everything, which is rare when it comes to en masse BBQ.
I was quite pleased to discover that their Nashville hot chicken nuggets appetizer ($5 with white bread and pickles) was excellent. I prefer real chicken to chicken breast nuggets any day, but they weren’t dry, and more importantly the spices were an extremely close approximation to the actual spices I’ve encountered in Nashville, and it was actually quite hot. Most places I’ve seen outside of Tennessee tend to spice it down for the masses (Holeman & Finch doesn’t, it’s plenty spicy, but their spice flavor profile is a far cry from any I’ve seen in Nashville) but after the first bite at Jim ‘N Nick’s, a few drops of sweat appeared on my brow. Excellent. I recommend trying it, if even only as a benchmark, but it will also appeal to appetites and hangovers.
Baby back ribs are fine if in the mood for them, if not a slight bit too chewy. Mac and cheese will please any fan. The free cheese biscuits are inedibly sweet.