Hancock is one of my favorite fried chicken places - I went at least once a month when I lived in Grand Rapids and still go every time I visit the city. We recently visited Grand Rapids for two days and ate at Hancock not once, but two times.
Half Chicken ($20.00) - Hancock allows you to choose two different spice levels for the chicken. We went with hot and hotter. I believe the level is controlled by a mixture of dry spice (shaker available at the condiment station) and the hot oil. The spice level here is legit - a lot of other hot chicken places in Michigan tend to tone down their spices levels - this hot, on the other hand, is actually mouth burning hot. The hotter is even worse, first starting with a pleasant heat, then building up after around 10 seconds until my mouth was on fire for the next couple of minutes. My first thought after eating the breading, on the bottom soaking with the hot oil: "I think I made a mistake." My partner noted how my face immediately turned red, sweat started pouring down my face, and I started violently hiccuping.
And yet, the spice does not overwhelm the flavor. There's a complex aromatic and fragrant chili flavor from the very start. Both the breading and chicken itself are appropriated salted (brined in the case of the chicken). The chicken is tender and flavorful and deliciously juicy. It is so tender that it falls off the bone, even on the wing tips. Everything is in harmony and basically seasoned perfectly. Dare I say the chicken served at Hancock is as good as any place in Nashville?
This meal comes with two sides - we chose the Baked Beans and Pimento Mac & Cheese. The beans are mostly tender with a tiny bit of a firm bite. The sauce is a bit sweet, aromatic with a bit of a crunch from onions. There's a bit of bacon added in for additional savory saltiness. The mac & cheese is creamy and rich. The macaroni is cooked just a tad over al dente, so still retaining a bit of bite. The sauce isn't too salty and is a great reprieve to help dampen out some of the heat from the chicken.
Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread ($6) - Love this cornbread. It's coated and fried, so it creates a very nice crisp skin while still allowing the interior to remain fluffy and moist. There's a strong fresh jalapeno flavor but only a very mild spice, especially compared to the chicken. The corn flour is studded with whole corn kernels for surprising pops full of flavor. The corn bread is served with honey butter on the side - sweet, buttery, rich, delicious.
We went back the next night to eat the chicken freshly fried, this time going with hot for half and sweet for the other half. The hot this time was just a pleasant tingle. My best guess is that on the previous day, all the oil from the hotter ended up in a giant pool and also soaked the hot. The sweet is basically the fried chicken basted in the delicious honey butter glaze. Delicious. And as before, all the chicken is tender, fall of the bone, and exceptionally moist and juicy. Usually the tender portion of the breast can tend to be dry and bland, but this one is brined well and you can dip it in the excess oil on the plate for another hit of flavor. The exterior breading also adds a nice crisp. This is a top tier fried chicken. For the sides, I chose the Pimento Mac & Cheese (again, delicious) and the Mashed Yukons & Gravy - creamy, but with larger chunks of potato mixed in and a very herbal and aromatic gravy ladled on top.
I do not recommend getting the hot chicken to-go for three reasons. Firstly, the box they use to house the chicken is not waterproof on the bottom. When I lifted it up, the hot oil burst out from the box and splashed all over my hands and the carpet of my car. Secondly, the breading in this case does not do well at all if you don't dig in immediately. And lastly - the hot oil contaminates the other food in the box, rendering the milder pieces of chicken spicier than expected. Yet, I would still give the takeout fried chicken a 5! I definitely recommend eating at Hancock while in Grand Rapids.
Bathrooms - Two unisex rooms
Overall rating of the food for both visits: 5/5 read more