SAN ANTONIO — On Neighborhood Eats, we've taken on ghost peppers, devil dust, scorpion sauce, and many more spicy things that many have to sign a waiver just to taste. So, when a new spicy chicken restaurant announced its opening, we were one of the first people there.
It's called Dave's Hot Chicken, and the San Antonio location is on the far west side in the Sprouts Shopping Center off 151 and Hunt Lane.
"The flavor hands down beats everybody," said owner and operator Paul Gorman. "The tenders are not just your little small chicken fingers; they're nice sized chicken tenders. It's juicy. It's flavorful. It separates us from the competition -- the size, the portion, the spicing, the flavoring of it. That's what I think makes us better than everybody else."
We went to the store on its soft opening day. And even then, the line was out the door. Even though it's a franchise, partner Jason Hotchkiss said every Dave's Hot Chicken has its own flare that makes it unique for that location. At this store, you'll find a mural dedicated to our military, being Military City. It also has the Alamo painted on it, along with Spurs decoration.
The first Dave's Hot Chicken began in east Hollywood when a few friends opened a pop-up. Next thing you know, it became huge.
"This food blogger came out and they wrote an article about them -- this hot chicken is going to blow your mind -- and their next day, they had a line down the block waiting to have their hot chicken," said Gorman.
Now, they’re not just in the U.S., but a few other countries too.
However, San Antonians are no strangers to spicy food. So, Lexi Hazlett had to take on the hottest of the hot -- the Reaper.
There are seven different levels to choose from, ranging from no spice to the hottest of the hot.
"They'll take the chicken tender and they'll dip it into the wet rub, and then they'll spice it with whatever it is...and those are made the same way. It's just depending on what spice level that you want," said Gorman.
You can also get the tenders in a slider form where the bread is buttered and golden brown.
"It has coleslaw that they've come up with on the bottom, three pickles that go on there. And then they put the tender right on top of that, and then they drizzle it with ten lines of the signature Dave’s Sauce, which is incredible by the way," said Gorman.
We spoke with customers who were very eager to visit the store. And the feedback was all positive.
"I saw the signs for it going down 151," said customer Grace Zamarron. "I was like, I want new food. It was really good."
"I would definitely try to lighten up your taste buds a little bit. Try to get a little bit out of what you're normally used to. I know next time I come here I'm going to try the Reaper one," said Martin Espinosa.
For more information about Dave's Hot Chicken, like their full menu and hours, click here.
"Our mission statement – let it blow your mind," said Gorman.
Do you have a restaurant or food truck you want Lexi to visit? Send an email to eats@kens5.com with all the details. You can also contact her through social media:
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