Somehow I neglected to pack my lunch today, and I was about to make a quick sandwich run when I noticed a flyer for Hot Chicks in my office breakroom. I was already intrigued when I thought it was just a chicken shack, even more so when I discovered barbecue on the menu! Hot Chicks was only a few blocks away from work, so I rolled the dice.
Hot Chicks occupies a renovated house near Nashville's Centennial Park in midtown. I went in the door that I assumed to be the main entrance, but I'm pretty sure I chose wrong. It's mostly still all house in here as far as the layout and ambiance goes, with the addition of a small bar area. Interior tables are a bit limited, with a nice outdoor patio space available to supplement. I left that for another day when the heat index was only in the double-digits.
For a place that dubs itself the "House of Chicken," I was naturally expecting any and all barbecue options here to be, well, chicken. Nope. The barbecue at Hot Chicks consists entirely of pork shoulder and ribs. In fact, chicken makes up less than a quarter of their available entree items. The rest is a mix of shrimp, fish, beef, and pork dishes. Their online menu also seems to vary considerably from what I was presented with in-house. Confused but undaunted, I ordered a Pork Shoulder Plate (since ribs are only Friday/Saturday fare) with mac and cheese and potato salad as my two sides.
Despite being their first customer of the day (even half an hour after opening), my order took over twenty minutes to come out. That's a rather long time for a lunch order, especially in barbecue world with the theoretically-limited effort involved in tossing together a one-meat, two-side plate. The only other table had arrived at least five minutes after I did, yet they were served much sooner. That being said, my lunch did look awesome when it finally made its way to the table.
The mayo-based, German-style potato salad was served only slightly chilled, just the way I like it. Big slices of new potatoes, chives, and crumbled bacon made for a perfect combination. It was very savory and very creamy. Their large elbow pasta tasted fairly standard, although the gooey mac and cheese was the epitome of comfort food. It was also fresh and piping hot, but could have used a little elevation in the taste department.
Naturally, I requested my sauce on the side so as to properly test the pork's mettle. I found it tender and exceptionally juicy. There were plenty of smoke-kissed bits of pork scattered throughout, with only a mild smokiness upon closer examination. The dominant flavor was a slightly-acidic sweetness from their mop sauce, coupled with natural porky goodness. Some of the bark and fattier bites did pack more of a punch though. It's difficult to convert a Texan away from brisket, but this was pretty decent as far as pulled pork goes.
I was admittedly more impressed with the barbecue at Hot Chicks than I initially expected. They have a few kinks to work out, both in terms of service and food, but I definitely want to come back on a Friday to scope out their ribs. Were I writing a general restaurant review rather than strictly a barbecue critique, their slow and sloppy service probably would have knocked them down at least one notch. Fortunately for Hot Chicks, I am not The Restaurant Fiend. The Yelp/TripAdvisor version of this commentary, however, will be rated appropriately.
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Hot Chicks
117 28th Ave N
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 649-8816
http://hotchicksnashville.com/
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