The Budlong Southern Chicken

"Budlong is a local chain that also specializes in Nashville hot chicken, but Budlong’s heat level is much less intense. Our favorite thing about this place is their tangy “comeback sauce,” which is a little like what you’d find on a Big Mac, and we mean that as a compliment. And it comes with coleslaw and thickly-sliced pickles on a toasted brioche bun." - adrian kane

"Nashville-style hot chicken spots are inescapable these days, but luckily “too much of a good thing” never applies to fried chicken. The Budlong Hot Chicken has a few locations in the city, including this one on Armitage, which you should definitely stop into if you’re looking for a low-key counter service alternative to Parson’s. You can get the boneless hot chicken sandwich for $12 and pile on the a la carte sides. But we suggest ordering the bone-in half chicken plate for $16 instead, because it comes with the necessities: Texas toast and pickles." - josh barnett, adrian kane

"Some like it hot but others like it really hot. The Budlong’s signature Nashville hot chicken is slathered in fiery cayenne paste for a lip-numbing experience. Choose a level of heat — ranging from classic to extra hot — and savor it on a brioche bun with slaw, pickles, and Budlong’s comeback sauce. The restaurant has four locations across Chicago." - Ashok Selvam, Jeffy Mai

"The Budlong Hot Chicken, the local restaurant mini-chain that helped popularize Nashville-style birds in Chicago, is testing the waters for possible changes as owner Jared Leonard is “putting feelers out” to gauge interest in his five remaining locations. In an online ad, Leonard has floated an asking price of $3 million for the restaurants, which are listed with a gross revenue as $4.5 million. Founded in 2016, the Budlong had seven Chicago locations before the COVID-19. In the years since, Leonard (who moved to Colorado in 2017) shuttered outposts in the Merchandise Mart and Revival Food Hall in the Loop." - aimee.levitt

"In fact, the Royals are following Hamburger Stan’s owner, Jared Leonard, to Urbanspace where Leonard is opening a location of his Nashville hot chicken sandwich shop, the Budlong." - Ashok Selvam