This North Texas restaurant has the real-deal ‘Nashville hot’ chicken
Texas may not be ready for Hattie B’s Hot Chicken.
We’ve had too much fake Nashville hot chicken, flavored with Tajín or ancho chiles or all kinds of bogus ingredients sold as “Nashville” to Texans who don’t know any better.
Now, Hattie B’s Hot Chicken is here to show us what made Nashville famous.
The closest Hattie B’s opened last year at 3827 Lemmon Ave., Dallas, off Oak Lawn Avenue about 1 mile east of Interstate 35E.
A location in Deep Ellum didn’t turn out to be a good idea (duh), but another Hattie B’s is near opening at 2104 Preston Road, Plano.
The reviews have been the usual raves.
Hattie B’s serves real-deal cayenne-and-brown-sugar hot chicken, the way it was when the Bishop family first made their version in their family cafe in Franklin, Tennessee, and then expanded in 2012 to open a Hattie B’s in midtown Nashville, already known for Prince’s Hot Chicken.
Two caveats:
1. Every Hattie B’s applies the cayenne at different heat levels, and maybe even by different cooks on different shifts.
2. The “mild,” “medium” and “hot” chicken are really hot, hotter and “holy Hades.”
On a visit last weekend, the “medium” chicken tenders were hotter than most Texas versions of Nashville chicken.
For the brave, Hattie B’s also offers a habanero hot chicken and a ghost-pepper chicken called “Shut the Cluck Up.”
This location offers thick Nashville hot fried chicken sandwiches and fries or another of the eight sides like greens, grits or black-eyed pea salad.
The combo costs less than $10. For an extra $1, top it with pimento cheese. Or add waffles for $4..
There’s also bone-in chicken by the white or dark quarter (less than $11 with a side) or half (less than $17).
Also, there’s a grilled chicken salad or sandwich, but the spice doesn’t translate as well to the thick, juicy grilled filet.
If you’ve been disappointed by scrawny servings at other hot chicken restaurants, that is definitely not a problem at Hattie B’s.
The jumbo tenders (less than $12 for three with a side) spill off the plate with the seasoned fries.
The desserts — peach cobbler, banana pudding or vanilla ice cream — tamp down the burn.
Hattie B’s is open for lunch and dinner daily; 469-613-0055, .hattieb.com.
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 4:39 AM.
