Hattie B's Hot Chicken — Restaurant in Dallas

Mrs. Hattie B. Why you do this to me?

On my many treks to the "A"(Atlanta if you're not in the know) I have driven by Hattie B's Hot Chicken. Everytime I would drive by, I would LONGINGLY stare at the long line(regardless of the location) and wish that I could partake of that goodness. Today, here in the Big D, I was in Deep Elm and saw that there was a Hattie B's Hot Chicken! No line!!! But now I see why.

Upon entering I was greeted by Rap music politely playing over the speakers. Clean, not busy, and well set-up to give you that sense of, "Come on in and get a plate Baby." They offer a variety of Chicken goodness with Bone-In Fried Chicken in your choice of spices, Chicken Tenders, Sandwiches. Several side options from Crinkle-Fries(Got To Have It) Collard Greens, Coleslaw, Mac N Cheese, Baked Beans, and More. They even offer a few Cocktails! Since this was my first time, I figured I would go traditional with Southern Style Fried Chicken to see what Mrs. Hattie B was holden down!

The young lady at the counter greeted my warmly and proceeded to take my order. Kudos to my girl when I informed her that this was my first time visiting Hattie B's. She was knowledgeable of the flavor profiles, made suggestions, and invited me to add a beverage & dessert to my 2 pieces Dark w/Crinkle Fries, Collard Greens, and ComeBack Sauce, To-Go. (Go ahead and get that upsale!!!) After a wait of about 8 minutes, my name was called and I was on my way to what I thought was going to be Fried Chicken Uphora.

Upon opening my box, the first thing I saw was a Chicken Quarter(they sale whole quarters so be sure you are somewhere that you eat with your hands or break the chicken down) that was soggy and cold(I know you can see it too). The chicken was laying on a slice of white bread, which usually serves the purpose of soaking up the hot grease from the chicken when it comes out of the fryer to avoid it burning through the container. It was cold, so there was really no need. My coveted Crinkle Fries were warm at best. I did like the Comeback Sauce, which was similar to Chick Fil A's sauce, but spicier without the hint of smokeness. I was hoping Hattie B(excuse me, I don't want to be disrespectful, Mrs. Hattie B) would at least give me a hug with the Greens, but that didn't happen either. Now, getting barely warm food at a not very busy establishment, at 11:45am, when they opened at 11am, is not good. That tells me, that they dropped too much Chicken and Fries and were still trying to sale it. I'd except a refresh(redrop the Chicken and Fries in the fryer, so it's at least Hot, and crisp) just help me out!

Needless to say, Customer Service? ON POINT!! Food? Hattie B's did not...

've been to Nashville and tried some Hot Chicken at some OG joints like Prince's and Bolton's. Still never had a chance to try Hattie B's though, until today.

Arrived on Sunday 2/27/22 10 minutes after they opened (still within the first week of grand opening) and naturally there was a line. Waited about 30 minutes (frankly I would have waited much longer knowing now what an amazing food experience I ended up having).

I ordered the Fried Tenders with a side of Slaw and Pimento Mac n Cheese, two extra slices of bread, and their Bloody Mary.

My criteria for excellent Hot Chicken is as follows. The chicken must must must be moist and juicy and it certainly was. The chicken must have good flavor on its own without the breading and seasoning, which it most certainly did. The breading ratio was perfect. I can't stand when there's so much breading on a tender where it rakes the roof off my mouth and the chicken gets lost in all the batter. This was done perfectly. The seasoning wasn't just hot and spicy. There were nuanced notes of sweetness and warmth and balance and of course an ever present heat and spice. Look, if you're ordering your chicken without some kind of heat, you're not doing it right. You need to feel a little pain with your hot chicken. But not so much pain that it distracts from the meal experience. Fortunately for me I hit the nail on the head when I ordered my chicken "hot." Any hotter and it would have been too much to tolerate for me.

The slaw by itself is pretty middle of the pack but when eaten the way I eat it, it contributes the exact cooling effect that I need when I eat hot chicken. I put a tender on top of a slice of white bread, put some comeback sauce on top of the tender and top it with slaw and eat it like a taco. So. Damn. Good!!!!!!

The pimento mac and cheese was above average but I will say for mass produced mac and cheese I definitely enjoyed it.

The Bloody Mary was on tap and also pretty effin good too!

All in all, totally delicious so much to say it was the best hot chicken experience I ever had. I feel sorry for anyone who didn't love it as much as...

I'm really shocked at how this place was phenomenal when we gave it a try a few weeks back. It was so good that we came back a second time. The first two visits blew us away. The customer service was awesome those 2 days. They spoke to us as soon as we entered and as we ate they came to check on us twice. Not this third time. Upon entering we was not greeted but looked at as Nee Nee J was on the phone taking orders. When she got off she asked would this be dine in or to go? We said dine in. I walked off to go to the bathroom as my husband was going to place my order. I walked around and noticed a homeless man sitting on the floor between the 2 bathrooms with a blanket and I also noticed both of the bathroom doors were beyond filthy. This was shocking to me as this was one of the reasons I came back. It was clean. Not this time. The bathrooms were occupied so I got back in time of my order being ordered. So I told my husband I got it love. As I approached Nee Nee J she didn't speak so I said Hi. Then she said Hi after. I told her what I wanted. I also got two drinks. The cups are upside down to begin with which is good. But when getting our cups she touched the part where our lips go. So I put the two back down not back where they came from but where she could get them and I proceeded to get 2 more touching only the bottom as I told her I don't like anyone touching my cups. She said ok give me all those cups back. You don't like no one touching your cup but you're touching everyone else's? I said ma'am! You touched where my lips go! I'm touching the bottom! There's nothing wrong with these cups I'm touching. Then on top of that I noticed a man bringing out someone's food and he was laughing and talking over their food! Spit particles come out of people's mouth so this was gross. And the peach cobbler was very gummy. And fries cooked a little hard and over seasoned. I don't think...