Nashbird

[Roger S]

They will have really had to kick it up a lot.... If what I was served was the hottest. They have a long way to go up the Scoville scale because what I was served wouldn't even rate as mild at Prince's.

[PhiAlpha]

They will have really had to kick it up a lot.... If what I was served was the hottest. They have a long way to go up the Scoville scale because what I was served wouldn't even rate as mild at Prince's.

I grabbed the hottest one after they amped it up. It more than met my expectations. Very spicy.

[soonerguru]

So is this just fried chicken with hot sauce? If the chicken is good it shouldn't need hot sauce. What am I missing?

[Mott]

Yes.

For those that don't know, Dunham is behind Iguana as well.

Well we tried iguana after Dave Catheys story on new menu and chef and it was really mediocre, just as bad as it had been in the past.

[ctchandler]

So is this just fried chicken with hot sauce? If the chicken is good it shouldn't need hot sauce. What am I missing?

Soonerguru,
I think you are missing the whole point. Any good food should stand on it's own, but Nashville chicken is advertised as hot and it is in fact hot. If you don't like the spiciness go to Okarche or any normal fried chicken place. Personally, I have always felt that there's a reason why chicken is called foul(fowl) and I don't normally eat it, but you add some heat, especially hot wings and I enjoy it.
C. T.

[LakeEffect]

Well we tried iguana after Dave Catheys story on new menu and chef and it was really mediocre, just as bad as it had been in the past.

Interesting. That wasn't my experience. I thought it had definitely improved.

[BridgeBurner]

Checked this place out last week, I got the white meat basket (XXX Hot Dang) with fries and mac and cheese. I definitely agree with others on here who said they will be trying the hottest one they make next time, Hot Dang honestly was not all that spicy to me. Not 100% sure how they are utilizing the basement space there but it did not appear to be for public use which was kind of a bummer but makes sense. I will also note that the chicken tenders appeared to be the best deal out of everyone sitting at my table, one chicken tender was about as much meat as my entire white meat basket and his basket came with three.

Good Lord, when they changed the spice recipes on 9/4 they definitely upped the heat! I went back and tried the Hot Dang XXX chicken tenders, hearing but not heeding their warning that they had changed their spice recipes, and man! My meal ended up giving me two days of leftovers because my stomach could only handle eating one of them at a time. Anyways, just wanted to let people know that the days of eating a basket of Hot Dang XXX without refilling your dixie cup worth of water are over!

[Roger S]

Good Lord, when they changed the spice recipes on 9/4 they definitely upped the heat! I went back and tried the Hot Dang XXX chicken tenders, hearing but not heeding their warning that they had changed their spice recipes, and man! My meal ended up giving me two days of leftovers because my stomach could only handle eating one of them at a time. Anyways, just wanted to let people know that the days of eating a basket of Hot Dang XXX without refilling your dixie cup worth of water are over!

Have they fixed the breading issue? The day I was there the crust to chicken ratio was awful which resulted in a mushy/mealy crust on the chicken.

[roci28]

How does Nashbird's compare to the Drum Room? We went to the Drum Room last night for the first time. Food was pretty good, great portions, fairly priced (happy hour between 4-7 with half off wing or drum appetizers which had more than the dinner portion for cheaper), service was good and it was fairly busy.

[Pete]

Lunch today and had the chicken tenders at the 2nd hottest heat (XXX Hot Dang).

Obviously, they have kicked up the heat considerably. When they first opened, I would have rated the exact same order as about a 3 on the scale of 1-10 heat. Now, it's about a 8.5 to 9. I love spicy food but it was too hot for me. The hottest level is best left to some sort of dare.

I could see ordering XXX again on a sandwich where you have bread and other things to offset all the cayenne pepper. And eating it directly with your hands means it's easy to get a bit up the nose and that's no fun.

Also, the coating was much more red and the pepper stayed on your fingers like Cheetos. Maybe now they are first cooking the chicken then putting the pepper on it, instead of having it in the breading itself?

I really liked it, just a hair too hot. Their onion rings are very good and I love the cucumber / watermelon salad as it's a great, cool complement to the hot chicken.

Was there not long after it opened on a Sunday so not super busy and really hope they stick with Sundays. Looks like they are starting to hit their stride. Credit to Marc Dunham for continuing to refine the food and entire operation.

[Roger S]

How does Nashbird's compare to the Drum Room?

About like apples compare to oranges as far as the chicken goes.... I guess as far as service goes too since Drum Room is full service and Nashbird is counter service..... Or maybe I should just have said they don't compare at all... Two different beasts.

[David]

Tried it on Friday and got an XX chicken sandwich, and that was just about too much for me. On my next visit I'll probably try either X or maybe one of the flavor options.

[Pete]

I had two of the XXX chicken tenders for leftovers and really enjoyed them.

Found the heat not so overwhelming when not straight out of the fryer.

Maybe just a tiny bit too hot for my preference but I really liked the overall taste, breading and quality of meat.

Will be interesting to see how consistent they are with their heat levels.

[AP]

I went on Saturday and had the chirpy spice because I heard from a friend they kicked up the spice after the launch. I found chirpy wasn't really spicy enough. Next time I go, I'll have to try something hotter.

[Roger S]

Went and gave it a second try for lunch today... They did raise the heat quite a bit from my first visit but, and I'll admit I have a high tolerance, the Crazy Hot wasn't that hot to me and nowhere near the heat level of the XXX at Prince's Hot Chicken in Nashville.

Still overall I'm just not a fan of the chicken at Nashbird. Which is a bummer because I was really excited about the opportunity to get this style of chicken locally.... I will say the breading quantity was better today but sadly just not to my liking...... I've also found it odd that on both visits the wing has been huge but the breast has very little meat on it..... Someone needs to tweak those chickens workout routines because they're spending too much time working their arms and not their chests.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Went and gave it a second try for lunch today... They did raise the heat quite a bit from my first visit but, and I'll admit I have a high tolerance, the Crazy Hot wasn't that hot to me and nowhere near the heat level of the XXX at Prince's Hot Chicken in Nashville.

Still overall I'm just not a fan of the chicken at Nashbird. Which is a bummer because I was really excited about the opportunity to get this style of chicken locally.... I will say the breading quantity was better today but sadly just not to my liking...... I've also found it odd that on both visits the wing has been huge but the breast has very little meat on it..... Someone needs to tweak those chickens workout routines because they're spending too much time working their arms and not their chests.

Have you tried Chef Ray's? It is a food truck that serves hot chicken. I actually saw it at the state fair: https://www.facebook.com/Chefraysstreeteats/

[Roger S]

Have you tried Chef Ray's? It is a food truck that serves hot chicken. I actually saw it at the state fair: https://www.facebook.com/Chefraysstreeteats/

I have not but I've heard nothing but good things about the truck.

[Pete]

Went and gave it a second try for lunch today... They did raise the heat quite a bit from my first visit but, and I'll admit I have a high tolerance, the Crazy Hot wasn't that hot to me and nowhere near the heat level of the XXX at Prince's Hot Chicken in Nashville.

I had wondered about the consistency in the heat levels because I'd be very, very surprised if what I had as XXX (2nd hottest) on Sunday wouldn't have been plenty hot for you.

I'll have to try it again and see what it's like next time because I assumed they had just become carried away on my order on Sunday.

[Roger S]

I've had pretty wild inconsistencies on every facet of my two visits...... Forgot to mention that the mac & cheese was much better today and I also tried the onion rings which I enjoyed quite a bit.... In fact the onion rings were the best thing I've had there.... However they weren't all rings. Some were onion slices.

[riflesforwatie]

I've become a big fan of Nashbird but I will echo the inconsistency point regarding heat levels on the chicken. Sides and apps have all been excellent (and consistently so). Also, Pete is absolutely right. If you get the chicken cold or plan on having it leftover, get it one level (or two) hotter than you normally would. It's still excellent leftover.

[jccouger]

Have you tried Chef Ray's? It is a food truck that serves hot chicken. I actually saw it at the state fair: https://www.facebook.com/Chefraysstreeteats/

I've tried bringing them up a few times here with no reaction. They are outstanding.

[FighttheGoodFight]

I've tried bringing them up a few times here with no reaction. They are outstanding.

They were at the fair and killing it! I skipped them though as I had just devoured my indian taco.

[Anonymous.]

I have gone two more times since the seasoning change. I think they may have gone too far in the hot direction now. Still delicious, but I will probably have to adjust down to either X or XX now. I can't even imagine the hottest level with the new stuff.

Also I think the mac and cheese is getting worse. It was super salty and bland. And the cucumber/watermelon salad is seemingly becoming extra vinegary-y?

[TheirTheir]

Ate here for the first time yesterday. We each ordered the 3 XX Jumbo Chicken Strips with 2 orders of mac n cheese, fries and cucumber/watermelon salad. The chicken was very good and very juicy. Spice was enough to let you know that it was there, but not overpowering. The mac was bland, the fries were as boring as could be and the cucumber/watermelon salad was fine, but had too much vinegar. After I finished the 3 strips I was very full, but still wanted to try the XXX so I ordered 1 extra. The strip I received was the best tasting chicken strip--possibly fried chicken in general, I have ever eaten. It was absolutely delicious. The spice hit me more on my lips than anywhere else and lingered for a couple minutes after eating, but absolutely doable. Granted, the heat would probably have been worse if I had eaten 3 of them, but who knows. I will definitely be ordering the XXX from now on. All in all, the chicken is worth putting up with the crummy sides.

[BridgeBurner]

I was back there for the third time this weekend and had my leftovers for lunch today. I downgraded spice level from XXX to XX and was very happy with the XX. One thing I will note is that it seemed like the chicken strips were significantly smaller than the last two times I was there, hopefully that has not been a permanent change. I agree that the mac and cheese is nothing to write home about, I wish you could get a spicy version or something- I had to spice my leftovers up with sriracha. I tried the onion rings and they were not as crispy as I would like but still tasted fine, I will probably go back to fries next time I am there. I also tried all of their dipping sauces and I would say the spicy honey and the pickle ranch are my two favorites, I usually put honey mustard on everything but was not a big fan of theirs.