If there is only one constant in this life, it’s got to be that fried chicken is delicious. I challenge you to find someone who doesn’t love it, or, at the very least, doesn’t mind eating it. It’s a common denominator food, one that almost everyone has experience with and an opinion about, whether your grandma made it every Sunday when you were a kid or you got a bucket of KFC two weeks ago.
In the last couple years, fried chicken has seen a resurgence in popularity. While it’s never completely gone away, you now see fried chicken popping up on menus all over, and even fried chicken-focused restaurants. It’s piggybacking a larger movement of Southern food permeating north and becoming trendy.
Hot Head Fried Chicken in Bay View is the latest Milwaukee restaurant to embrace this trend. It opened in September in the space that previously held Bumstead Provisions. Bumstead didn’t work out for the owners, so they decided to switch formats, turning the spot into a fried chicken and Southern food palace. The narrow focus of the menu compared to Bumstead’s confused upscale deli is a welcome change.
The fried chicken at Hot Head comes in four styles: traditional Southern Fried, Carolina Gold, Nashville Hot and 414 Fire. All start out with buttermilk-soaked chicken pieces that are battered and then deep fried. Beyond that, sauces are applied to create each style. It comes in platters of two to 16 pieces ($7-$30), served on white bread slices with a few token pickles. The batter on the chicken is incredibly crunchy—almost tooth-shatteringly so—but the meat close to the bone is moist.
Nashville-style hot fried chicken seems to be the most popular to order at HH, which is no surprise considering how ubiquitous it’s become. The fried chicken pieces are brushed in an oil-based sauce loaded with cayenne and other chili powders. Because it’s oil-based, the sauce does not make the crust on the chicken soggy, and leaves plenty of orange-hued puddles on the plate for sopping with the bread. It’s a rather mild version of Nashville-style hot chicken, but it’s got a deep flavor.
Carolina Gold adds a mustard-based Carolina-style barbecue sauce to the chicken. This is a relatively sweet version, and it’s rather thick. Order the sauce on the side for dipping if you want to go this route.
And finally, the 414 Fire is the extra hot, knock-your-socks-off version of the Nashville hot style. It’s made with ghost peppers, so if spicy food isn’t your thing, stay away. In actuality, the heat level is closer to what you’d get in Nashville, so don’t be afraid to try it.
Fried chicken is nothing without lots of Southern sides to eat it with. There are plenty to choose from here, including sautéed collard greens with garlic and bacon ($4), thick cheese grits with Parmesan and cheddar ($4), and baked beans with bourbon, molasses and pork belly ($4). Mac and cheese ($4) is made with either cheddar or smoked Gouda, but would be better if the cheeses were combined. For something a little lighter, there’s broccoli and kohlrabi slaw ($3) with carrots and cabbage in a light, creamy dressing.
Fans of Bumstead’s unique foie gras donuts with blueberry compote ($5) will be happy to note that they have survived and live on at HH. Fried green tomatoes ($4.50), Crafty Cow cheese curds ($7) and an airy version of fried pickles ($7) join them as appetizers.
Saturday and Sunday bring out the brunch menu (served 11 a.m.-3 p.m.). Chicken and waffles ($10.50) is a given, with a sweet waffles, two pieces of chicken and maple syrup. Southern breakfast biscuits ($11) are glorious in their excess, but a cardiologist’s nightmare. A couple of biscuits are topped with a chicken fried breakfast sausage patty, green tomato, cheddar, fried egg and chicken gravy. Or, get your chicken and waffle fix as a sandwich ($12.50) with sausage and eggs added. Whether you go to Hot Head for a weeknight dinner or a Saturday breakfast, any time is the right time for fried chicken.
