Hilltop Tavern Chicken Tenders Actually Taste Like Fried Chicken

Hilltop chicken tenders with the delicious mac and cheese and mango habanero sauce. Photo by Kevin Gibson

Prior to the Covid-19 shutdown, when I wanted chicken tenders, I went to Spring Street Bar & Grill, because that was the only place that had tenders that, to me, tasted like real, southern fried chicken. And then the business closed. And I was sad.

But now, there is another (yes, I just channeled Yoda) — Hilltop Tavern’s new hand-breaded tenders actually taste like traditional fried chicken.

I know this sounds weird. Many people love chicken tenders, but how often do those tenders really have the same flavor profile as true Southern fried chicken? I mean, like the stuff your grandmother made.

For me, it was essentially non-existent until I discovered the Spring Street tenders maybe a dozen years ago. And I had them often because the place was convenient to my home and because they were affordable. And they honestly reminded me of the fried chicken from my childhood. Spring Street is open now under new ownership, but the tenders haven’t returned to the menu (although the food is reeeaally good).

These days, the very best fried chicken in Louisville for my money is made every Tuesday and Thursday at Mellwood Tavern. I haven’t had every iteration of Louisville fried chicken, and there are many top-notch versions, like at Dasha Barbour. But that version of fried chicken is bone-in and a bit more of a challenge to eat — sometimes I want an easy approach, and a white-meat chicken tender can offer that.

But most of them don’t have the same flavor as the traditional, peppery, savory flavors of the batter I had in my grandmother’s kitchen and currently at a handful of places around town.

We can now enjoy that experience at Hilltop. For years, the tenders there were passable but, to me, just OK. I ordered them from time to time because I knew what I was in for and it was fine. But late last year, the tavern made a change to hand-breaded tenders. The first batch I had was an improvement but not a home run. And then, about a month ago, I tried them again … and Hilltop’s staff had honed their craft noticeably.

I had them again this week, and the results were, truly, a home run. The tenders meal comes with French fries as the default, but if you go, you’ll be well served to request Hilltop’s almost supernatural mac and cheese. Not that the fries are bad — they’re fine — but the mac is better.

The tenders themselves have that traditional crispy, peppery/savory shell on the outside and juicy, tender and well cooked white meat inside. And they truly reminded me a bit of the chicken my grandmother would spend hours making in her kitchen in Clarksville, creating the batter mix on her kitchen counter and then cooking the pieces in her trusty cast iron skillet that had cooked so many meals for the family over the years.

Sure, the love quotient isn’t the same in these tenders. On the plus side, there is also no need to eat around bones. Not that I’m against that at all, but sometimes you just want the convenience of eating a meal and not risking a cracked tooth, and when you can get almost the same flavor experience, well, that’s valuable.

My most recent experience with these Hilltop tenders was by far the best I’ve experienced yet, and as good as it was, I couldn’t finish the meal, meaning that I had a perfect air-fryer lunch the next day. Not bad for 12 bucks, right? All I’m saying is, it’s a dish worth a try, and one that I will order again soon. Also, ask for a side of the mango habanero sauce — it’s made using the recipe Hilltop used to put on its tacos before the pandemic shutdown.

And in a way, the whole experience is evidence that, sometimes, you can go home again.