Hattie B’s gets high marks from the Dining Duo

Hattie B’s gets high marks from the Dining Duo

Cooper- Young eatery racks up the “ Pows!”

Place: Hattie B’s Location:596 Cooper St., Memphis Rating: 5 out of 5 POWs

I wanted sandwiches. Cat wanted chicken. I won the debate — kind of.

When we drove to my goto sandwich place in Cooper-Young we discovered that it was just mobbed with people, which shouldn’t have come as a surprise since it was a Friday, close to Christmas, school was out, and people were out and about shopping and eating in the always busy Cooper-Young neighborhood.

So, for Plan B we went to Cat’s choice and ordered up some hot chicken at Hattie B’s. Hattie B’s is a Nashville based company that specializes in mild to hot fried chicken and Southern sides. The location in the Cooper-Young neighborhood opened in April. We had been there several times and have never been disappointed.

The menu, not surprisingly, is chicken, chicken, or chicken, and a few desserts. I just depends on how many pieces you want. When you order, you get to choose the degree of heat.

The lowest degree of heat is Southern, which has no heat at all. I chose that the first time I went to Hattie B’s, but I regretted it because it was just plain ol’ southern fried chicken. So I would go with some degree of heat. Mild (a touch of heat), then there is medium (warming up), hot (feel the heat), damn hot (fire starter), and shut the cluck up, which is the hottest and comes with a “burn notice.” Cat and I both ordered the jumbo chicken tenders ($9.99) which come with two sides. Cat got fries and her favorite, pimento cheese Mac n’ cheese. I got fries and baked beans with mine. We both got ours “mild.”

Hattie B’s is a nice casual setting. Our server, Marco, took our order and had it out to our table quickly. He was friendly and checked on us several times while we were dining, as did the rest of the staff.

The food at Hattie B’s is excellent. The chicken tenders are huge. In fact, it was so much food that Cat and I could have gotten by sharing one order of tenders. We basically took home three tenders for later. Cat absolutely loves their Mac n’ cheese, and I really like the baked beans.

Everyone has different tastes when it comes to hot. Me personally, I’m not too big on hot or spicy. I don’t want it to burn my mouth.

Cat and I agree that Hattie B’s mild is pretty spicy. It will burn your lips and make you sweat a little.

Mild is definitely hotter than Gus’s. I’m not brave enough to try anything hotter than that. Needless to say, I think Hattie B’s mild is hotter than most places — anything hotter and I think you’re taking your chances that it will be too hot.

Our bill ($9.99 for the tenders and $2.00 for drinks) came up to under $25, which considering how much food you get, is pretty reasonable for lunch. Like I said, Cat and I could easily have shared an order of their jumbo tenders and been full.

Hattie B’s is a nice, casual dining environment. It can get busy at times, but they do a great job of taking your order and getting it out to your table. They offer free refills so if your mouth is burning, you have plenty to quench the heat.

I used to think that Gus’s was my favorite place to go for chicken in Memphis.

But I have to agree with Cat when she says that “Hattie B’s is definitely my new favorite chicken place in Memphis.”