Worst event on local dining scene this summer?

*hot chicken defined as intensely spicy fried chicken quarters served on white bread with pickle slices

Why is that the definition of hot chicken?

*hot chicken defined as intensely spicy fried chicken quarters served on white bread with pickle slices

Why is that the definition of hot chicken?

Because that's what the accepted meaning of the dish is. It isn't spicy chicken sandwiches or chicken tenders. If I go to a pizza shop and they only offer calzones, pizza bites, and cheesy breadsticks with marinara dipping sauce I am going to feel disappointed in the same way. Royals may be hot-chicken-adjacent, but they are not a hot chicken restaurant anymore, and that is a shame, because I thought they were good.

Cite 1:
http://hot-chicken.com/about/what-is-ho ... 9ggfZrEzCQ

Cite 2:
http://time.com/15504/how-hot-chicken-b ... ture-dish/

Cite 3: http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/01/how- ... tie-b.html

Cite 4 (some book on hot chicken):
https://books.google.com/books?id=SzJaC ... on&f=false

The Royals Facebook page still says "featuring Nashville-style hot chicken," which is unfortunately not true. At the very least, I am glad I read the bad news on this forum instead of visiting and feeling deceived.

*hot chicken defined as intensely spicy fried chicken quarters served on white bread with pickle slices

Why is that the definition of hot chicken?

Because that's what the accepted meaning of the dish is. It isn't spicy chicken sandwiches or chicken tenders. If I go to a pizza shop and they only offer calzones, pizza bites, and cheesy breadsticks with marinara dipping sauce I am going to feel disappointed in the same way. Royals may be hot-chicken-adjacent, but they are not a hot chicken restaurant anymore, and that is a shame, because I thought they were good.

Cite 1:
http://hot-chicken.com/about/what-is-ho ... 9ggfZrEzCQ

Cite 2:
http://time.com/15504/how-hot-chicken-b ... ture-dish/

Cite 3: http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/01/how- ... tie-b.html

Cite 4 (some book on hot chicken):
https://books.google.com/books?id=SzJaC ... on&f=false

None of those citations define bone-in quarters as essential to the dish. I think you're being too persnickety in your definition, and saying Royals isn't serving hot chicken anymore is a stretch. They serve chicken, breaded, fried, spiced, on white bread, with a pickle. Whether a bone is present or not doesn't seem to make such difference that it defines whether it is or isn't hot chicken. Especially when the original purveyors offer tenders- Prince's on Thursdays and Hattie B's every day.

I understand being disappointed that Royals dropped quarters. I am too. I prefer it that way. I understand saying they're departing from Nashville tradition by dropping them. But saying they aren't serving hot chicken anymore is absurd.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_chicken

Hot chicken or Nashville hot chicken is a type of fried chicken that is a local specialty of Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States. In its typical preparation, it is a portion of breast, thigh, or wing that has been marinated in a water-based blend of seasoning, floured, fried, and finally sauced using a paste that has been spiced with cayenne pepper.

A tender is a portion of breast.

The Royals Facebook page still says "featuring Nashville-style hot chicken," which is unfortunately not true. At the very least, I am glad I read the bad news on this forum instead of visiting and feeling deceived.

Looks like they have removed "Nashville style" from the website.

The *common* element between all the hot chicken places you named is bone-in chicken, not tenders. I don't think there is a restaurant in America that would call itself a "fried chicken" restaurant if they only served tenders and no bone-in chicken. The idea of bone-in chicken pieces is very basic to the concept of fried chicken. If you google image search "fried chicken" you have to scroll a long, long way before you see a chicken finger. So yeah, a spicy tender is just not the same, and I would feel deceived if I walked into a Nashville hot chicken place and found only spicy tenders, the same as if I walked into a fried chicken place and found only tenders, same as if I walked into a pizza place and found only calzones, same as if someone said we were going to a fried chicken restaurant and we wound up at chik-fil-a.

[Robin Garr]

For the record, I see no tenders in this video ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXlzU7j4HcU

Looks like they have removed "Nashville style" from the website.

That's a good step.

The Royals Facebook page still says "featuring Nashville-style hot chicken," which is unfortunately not true. At the very least, I am glad I read the bad news on this forum instead of visiting and feeling deceived.

I was there on a team work outing when I found out, so I couldn't even turn around and leave. Even the fried sweet potato and marshmallow pie couldn't lift my spirits.

For the record, I like Royals. I liked their hot quarter, I really liked their extra hot quarter (both white and dark), I liked their sides, and I thought they had the best hot chicken (yes, a tender) at the hot chicken festival last year. I thought their spice rub was different in a good way. And Jeff, you have a point that none of those cites specify bone-in. I think that is more of an issue of it being taken for granted that fried chicken means bone-in chicken pieces than any of the authors deliberately including tenders, though, as again, the common element to every Nashville hot chicken place is bone-in, among the other factors listed. But my (admittedly belabored) point is that Royals shouldn't call themselves a Nashville hot chicken restaurant if they aren't serving quarters, same as a pizza place shouldn't call themselves a pizza place if they just serve calzones.