In my world, the hotter the better. My husband is convinced that I no longer have taste buds due to my love of all things spicy. Regardless, I was really excited to see how much heat would be served up at Joella’s Hot Chicken.
So what is hot chicken????
Here is how Joella’s would define what they do.
“We use all-natural chicken that is brined over-night, fried golden brown and sauced in your choice of our unique spice blends.”
The results are delicious chicken that is both juicy and flavorful.
Joella’s Hot Chicken is a relatively new company that has expanded rapidly this past year due to its popularity.
The atmosphere at Joella’s Hot Chicken is fast casual. You order your food at the counter and then wait at table of your choice for your food to arrive or you can place your order online for pickup. The Crescent Springs location that we visited had plenty of seating between two rooms.
Drink options are fresh lemonade, iced tea, beer, bottled soda and a soda fountain stocked with Boylan hand crafted sodas. I would recommend getting a drink from the Boylan soda fountain. We loved the birch beer and the black cherry flavors. I liked that their drinks were made with cane sugar and it was fun to try something new.
Let’s talk food.
Your hardest decision will be deciding what to order. You also need to take your spice level into consideration. There are 6 levels to choose from, so when in doubt, ask for recommendations.
I ordered the chicken and waffles with FIRE-IN DA-HOLE! INFERNO sauce along with the spiked honey which also added some heat. I LOVE spice and this level delivered.
You will notice that the chicken is served on top of a slice of bread that helps soak up the extra oil and spices.
My husband and boys both said that they wish they would have chosen one level lower for their spice level. I would recommend starting at a lower heat if you are unsure. You can always add heat but you can’t take it away once you have it. My boys ordered the chicken tenders and waffle and my husband ordered the Quarter Dark thigh and leg half chicken and waffle.
The sides at Joella’s are made fresh daily and you can’t go wrong with mac n’ cheese but I would also recommend trying the coleslaw. It’s a sweet slaw with raisins and almonds. Normally, I get annoyed with raisins in anything, but the raisins in the slaw are really small and the almonds add a great crunch. The fries are cut thin. I would only order fries if you are eating in because fries are best when you can eat them right away.
There are fresh salads available if you want to stay on the healthier side but I would say that the chicken and waffles are worth the splurge!
Don’t forget to save room for a second drink and dessert. We tried the banana puddin’ and the fried nutella poppers (A-MAZ-ING) ! Seriously, you can’t go wrong with anything that has nutella in it.
Our first visit to Joella’s was a hit and we will definitely be back!
You can find out more about Joella’s Hot Chicken from their website.
******Joella’s Hot Chicken is not open on Mondays
There are Joella’s Hot Chicken restaurants in Louisville and Lexington with future locations coming to Indy and Cincinnati.
The Joella’s Hot Chicken that we tried is located at 2440 High St, Crescent Springs, KY 41017 (less than 15 minutes from downtown Cincinnati)
Make sure that you check out the old photographs of Crescent Springs displayed on the walls.
Thanks again to Joella’s Hot Chicken for hosting our visit. All opinions are my own.
