The 10 Best Places To Eat Fried Chicken In The South
There are plenty of places around the country — and the world — that serve excellent fried chicken. But why not focus on the region that without doubt does country-style fried chicken the best? Here are the 10 best places to eat fried chicken in the South.
The 10 Best Places to Eat Fried Chicken in the South (Slideshow)
A month ago, we gave you our annual list of America's Best Fried Chicken Spots, which ranged from Korean-style fried chicken in New York City to Serbian-style fried chicken in Barberton, Ohio, to good old Southern-fried chicken in places as unexpected as Colorado. But for those of you who'd rather skip all that and go straight to the South itself, we decided to select 10 amazing fried chicken spots for you to visit in that corner of the country. To read more about our detailed methodology for our annual list, please click here.
Some of you might be thrilled — and others may be scandalized — to find that half the places on this list belong to one state (and all but one of those to one city). Need a hint? It's the state that is home to hot chicken. Perhaps it is this state's proficiency in both hot and country-style chicken that makes it so exceptional. If you beg to differ, tweet @thedailymeal with your out-of-this-state preferences and tell us why. But please be nice.
So if you find yourself South-bound this summer, make sure you stop by one of these unforgettable establishments. But don't arrive at these spots too hungry, as there will almost certainly be a line.
#10 Arnold's Country Chicken, Nashville
Arnold's Country Chicken has been serving homestyle "meat and three" platters (a meat entrée with three sides) and delectable fried chicken to Nashville for about 30 years. The secret to their famous fried chicken recipe is a kosher salt and ground black pepper brine, a Louisiana-style hot sauce wash, and a cayenne and garlic powder dredge. The result of those fancy culinary verbs is nearly perfect fried chicken that has folks lining up well past the door. Don't forget to try the grilled cornbread and famously creamy banana pudding.
#9 Biscuit Love, Nashville
Husband-and-wife team Karl and Sarah Worley began Biscuit Love as a truck in 2012, but have since opened a brick-and-mortar brunch spot with more options. Their hot fried chicken is as good as ever, though, as is their "Easy Nasty": fried chicken thighs with aged Cheddar and sausage gravy. In 2014, Karl Worley told The Daily Meal that house-made mustard and local honey play off the spices in the hot chicken; that might be why, in the few years that it's been up and running, Biscuit Love has already become a Nashville institution.