by Bottom Line: Pete’s Hot Damn and Aw Hell No!!! Chicken Tenders certainly bring the heat, and the flavor holds up despite the burn.
Nashville-style hot chicken is all the rage these days, and you can find variations on it in fast food joints and national franchises as well as small chains and one-off locations that focus on the spicy bird. So it is a pretty competitive market, and when a local place tries to match their hot chicken to the rest, they have to really kick things up to stand out. And I can tell you that Pete’s Hot Chicken in South San Antonio has proven itself up to that challenge!
Right now, Pete’s is a stationary food truck located on South Presa not far from downtown, and it has a covered outdoor eating area. But they are working on their brick-and-mortar building (in the same location) to extend their service and provide better accommodations for sit-down eating (I believe the target date for opening is later in the fall). But don’t let the outdoor seating deter you, because they are cooking up some chicken that is worth seeking out.
I stumbled upon this place while doing a search for spicy destinations around town, and the reviews indicated that their hottest level of heat certainly offered a challenge, so I stopped by recently to give it a try. They have six levels of heat for their chicken: Plain, Mild, Medium, Hot, Hot Damn, and Aw Hell No!!! I wanted to try the top two hottest, so I ordered the two-tender plate. That comes with the tenders placed on two slices of bread and topped with pickles along with their Comeback Sauce on the side. I also ordered their Watermelon Agua Fresca, figuring it might offer a good counterbalance to the heat, along with a side of fries.
To start off with, these tenders are big, and I mean practically monster-sized big! As I picked up my order and carried it to my table, I could feel the heft and smell the spice coming from them, so I knew these were for real. I started off with the Hot Damn tender, and that one certainly packs a punch. It had a crispy crust and quite a lot of seasoning with habanero as the chili pepper that kicks it up to their fifth-highest level of heat (the base seasoning starts with cayenne).
The thick tender is cooked through perfectly, and it is juicy and tasty but not greasy at all. My guess is that they marinate the meat, and that may add some kick as well. You definitely feel the seasoning on the tender when you bite into it because it is loaded on pretty thick, but not to the point that it is too powdery. You get a deep, peppery flavor along with a kick of heat that comes right away, and it builds up the more you work your way through the tender. But since there is a fair amount of meat, that does act as an offset to the spicy seasoning to a degree. Still, this got close to Fiery on my scale, and the average mortal will certainly struggle to get through one of these tenders.
As for the Aw Hell No!!!, that is for professionals only! It adds Ghost Pepper seasoning and definitely takes things to the next level. I have had the Reaper tender over at Dave’s Hot Chicken (more on that here), and it is comparable to that, but maybe a little lower on the heat. And that’s a good thing because I ate the whole tender and actually enjoyed it, even though it got above Fiery on my scale and was approaching Insane. It definitely delivered some pain, but I never got to the point that my mouth was completely numb like with the Reaper tender (which I put at the Insane heat level). The latter I did not enjoy, but Pete’s hottest I could taste all the way through even though my mouth was burning.
Their Comeback Sauce is sort of like a Thousand Island dressing, and it gives a little bit of respite from the heat while adding a nice sweetness. But it was the Agua Fresca that worked best as a counterbalance to the burn. That is just water, fruit (watermelon in this case), and a little bit of sugar, and it is refreshing while offering a nice cooling effect. I also got an order of their tasty fries, which are battered and crispy on the outside while soft in the middle and flavored up with their house seasoning. They do not bring any heat, so they also offer a break from the burn delivered by the tenders.
Pete’s does not have any calorie info on the menu (and you wouldn’t expect that from a local place), but what I got was certainly a hefty meal. I could have easily split it across two times and still found it quite filling, but everything was so good that I gobbled my way through it in one sitting. Not necessarily advised if you are watching your figure, but I just had a salad for dinner that night, so that makes it okay, right?
As for the aftereffects, I had a noticeable burning in the belly for most of the day, but that subsided by the evening and there were no further consequences. The Dave’s Reaper tender definitely came back to reap its vengeance the time I tried it, but I walked away from Pete’s mostly unscathed. Note that your experience may vary, though, depending on how well-conditioned you are to this type of spice.
So if you are looking for some good hot chicken, this place definitely has you covered. They are a little pricey once you factor in sides and drinks, but generous in portions so you can split with another person or save some for the next day. Pete’s also sells chicken sandwiches (the one with pimento cheese and chow chow sounds particularly good), chicken and waffles, and loaded fries. Plus, they have some family meal deals, though I advise going easy on the heat for the kiddos! This is definitely a place worth checking out, and we should support our local restaurants, so if you are craving some bird with the burn, I recommend stopping by.
Pete’s Hot Chicken
2418 S Presa St
San Antonio, TX 78210
Website: peteshotchicken.com
Hours:
Mon: Closed
Tue – Thu: 11 AM to 9 PM
Fri – Sat: 11 AM to 10 PM
Sun: 11 AM to 9 PM
