When a Pandemic Pivot Produced Nashville’s Best Hot Chicken Nachos
“This is like the Grand Ole Opry of queso and Nashville Hot Chicken all combined,” Guy Fieri declared, standing in front of a plate piled high with tortilla chips, molten cheese sauce, and fiery chicken at P-Town Tacos in Nashville.
The story behind this south-of-downtown spot in the neighborhood known as Pie Town (named for its pie-shaped layout) is one of those restaurant survival tales that hits different. Jason Crockroll had been running a successful catering company since 2006—a Nashville staple. Then 2020 happened. The pandemic wiped out 90% of his business practically overnight.
But instead of shutting down, Crockroll did what restaurant people do: he adapted. “We got all these people we love and care about, we got to keep them working,” he explained. So he opened up P-Town Tacos and started slinging tacos, bowls, and what would become their showstopper—the Hot Chicken Nachos.
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Building That Queso From Scratch
The foundation of these nachos is a from-scratch queso that’s anything but basic. It starts with vegetable oil, butter, onion, and garlic hitting the pan with kosher salt and cumin. Then comes flour to cook off the raw taste before green chilies and chicken stock go in. Half and half creates the creamy base, and cheese gets added gradually, melting bit by bit until you’ve got what Guy couldn’t stop eating.
Similar to how restaurants featured in segments like NewFoundLand Cod Cakes build flavor through layered techniques, P-Town’s approach to their queso shows that taking time with each component pays off.
The Hot Chicken Gets Serious
For the chicken itself, they’re not messing around with the heat. The spice blend includes guajillo chili, árbol chili, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, and sugar. But here’s the technique that matters: they bloom those spices in hot oil first, which Guy noted “brings out all that flavor out of those spices.”
The breading—or as the kitchen crew corrected Guy, the “chicken breader”—combines flour, cayenne, black pepper, kosher salt, more guajillo chili, garlic powder, onion powder, and milk powder as a binding agent. Water turns it into a wet batter for their wet-dry-wet dredging system. “Always D-Y,” the team confirmed—meaning you end dry.
Once fried, that chicken gets hit with the bloomed spice oil, Nashville hot chicken style, before landing on a bed of tortilla chips and queso. Cotija cheese and chopped cilantro finish it off.
Tips From the P-Town Kitchen
Bloom your spices: Don’t just sprinkle dried chilies on food. Heat them in oil to unlock their full flavor potential.
Add cheese gradually: Dumping all your cheese into sauce at once leads to clumping. Go little by little for smooth queso.
Use milk powder in breading: It acts as a binding agent that helps your coating stick to the chicken.
The Verdict
Guy’s reaction said it all: “Great texture, amazing crunch, the queso is perfect, good cheese sauce. I can’t shovel it in my mouth fast enough.” Even a customer wearing a P-Town Tacos shirt (who didn’t work there—just a dedicated fan) confirmed what regulars already know: “Best queso in town.”
The devotion to quality here mirrors what you’ll find at other Triple D favorites like e Pepe Arancini, where technique and fresh ingredients make the difference between good and unforgettable.
Looking to explore more spots Guy has visited? Check out our restaurant directory to find Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives locations near you.
