Try it Now: Hot Maple Fried Chicken

There is no hiding how much the staff of this magazine enjoys Northern Chicken. In March, it finished tops in the fried-chicken category in our Best Restaurants issue.

Last week, as part of Nashville Hot Chicken Day (and one you should have circled on your calendar. Wait. You didn’t?), the restaurant added a new flavour to the menu. And, really, it’s not got a lot to do with Nashville. It’s Hot Maple fried chicken, and I decided to dive in.

Co-owner Andrew Cowan told me that chipotle peppers give the chicken the kick, and the syrup adds, well exactly what you’d expect syrup to add. Stickiness. Sweetness. Now, there is hand-sanitizing solution and plenty of paper towels at every table, and it still doesn’t feel like enough. But it’s delicious, the heat is really balanced by the big punch of sweet. And, the batter holds up with the syrup on top. A lot of times, I’ve tried a sauced piece of fried chicken, only to find that the condiment has stripped the piece of all of its crunch. Not so with this variety.

And, we all love waffles and fried chicken, right? So why not do it all with a bit of heat? Make sure to get something with lots of salt on the side.