24 Hot Chicken serves up the spiciest fried chicken in town

24 Hot Chicken is now open in Plano | Image source: @24hotchicken on Instagram

When news broke that a restaurant serving fried chicken 24 hours a day would open in Plano, many Texans were bewildered, albeit elated at the idea. 24 Hot Chicken & Waffle Bar's new Plano outpost is the first of its kind, with the second having opened in Studio City earlier this month. 24 Hot Chicken specializes in Nashville-style hot chicken, which, according to founder Duke Park, is the hottest form of fried chicken known to man.

“Nashville hot chicken is famous for being very spicy,” Park says. “Our spice is made with a blend cayenne pepper, habanero pepper and ghost pepper. Ghost pepper is the hottest pepper in the world.”

At 24 Hot Chicken, customers can order their chicken at varying spice levels, with the most tame being "Country Style," and the hottest being "Video This."

Park first discovered Nashville-style chicken while on a road trip with his wife.

"We stopped by this place and we ordered the second spiciest item that they had," Park recalls. "It was a long drive, and I was tired. When I took a first bite, it wasn’t really spicy, but then about 20 or 30 seconds later, it lit my mouth on fire. Not only was it delicious, but it woke me up.”

A look at the Jumbo Strips from 24 Hot Chicken | Image source: @24hotchicken on Instagram

Park, who had previously been a franchisee for Pinkberry and Honeyfish Poké, immediately decided that Nashville-style chicken would be his next business venture.

Notable items include the Jumbo Tenders, a plate containing four giant chicken strips, served with a side of cole slaw, white bread and pickles. Cole slaw can be interchanged with a half waffle, a whole waffle, shake fries and macaroni and cheese.

In order to maintain a solid balance between sweet and spicy, one's best bet is to try the titular chicken and waffle, a full waffle topped with three jumbo chicken tenders and syrup. When ordered at medium heat, the spice of the chicken meshes quite well with the cakey, syrupy goodness of the waffle.

“The most satisfying part of it all is customers telling us how much they enjoy our chicken,” Park says. “If you love fried chicken and you love spicy food, 24 Hot Chicken is the place to fulfill all of your desires.”