Nashville Hot Chicken

The dish comes from the Prince family. The story told is that Thornton Prince's girlfriend, angry with him, cooked his chicken with as much pepper as she could and he liked it; the family turned it into a business, and Prince's Hot Chicken has run in some form since the 1930s. The method is what matters: chicken is fried, then painted with a paste of cayenne and lard or frying oil, which soaks into the crust rather than sitting on it, and it is served on white bread with pickles - the bread is there to absorb, not to be a sandwich. Heat levels run from plain up to versions the kitchens will warn you about, and the warnings are serious.

What you actually see

• Paste applied after frying - cayenne in hot fat, soaking into the crust.
• White bread and pickles - the bread absorbs, it is not a sandwich.
• The Prince family origin - running since the 1930s.
• Heat levels with real warnings - the top tiers are not a joke.

When to go

Year round. A meal.

Honest expectations

The hottest tiers cause genuine pain and some kitchens require a waiver in spirit if not in writing. Queues at the known places run long. Chains have exported a much milder version. Prince's has moved locations over the years.

Nearby

Downtown Nashville and Broadway are central; the Parthenon is west.