The Dave's Hot Chicken Hack That's A Cheesy Masterpiece

Dave's Hot Chicken has been steadily growing ever since it started selling hot chicken tenders and sliders out of a parking lot in East Hollywood. In early 2018, it opened its first physical restaurant, and the rest is history. Today, the chain has over 100 locations to meet the demands of its fans who stay loyal to its spicy chicken and crinkle-cut fries. Even celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson and Drake invested in this fried chicken chain. Naturally, the growth has prompted an expansion of its offerings, although it hasn't strayed too far away from the beloved original. For instance, mac and cheese has joined the menu as a staple side dish alongside kale slaw, which has been sold since the beginning. And it's no wonder because who doesn't love cheesy mac with chicken?

With the virality of Dave's Hot Chicken comes the ever-so-creative ways that fans start combining and consuming their food. When these menu hacks go viral across social media, they grab the attention of both loyal and new customers — it's like free marketing for the restaurant. One of these hacks involves combining cheese fries, a cut-up chicken tender, and a pickle, and then pouring Dave's sauce over the top. But now there's a new and improved one with mac and cheese.

This new mac and cheese menu hack at Dave's Hot Chicken has become a sensation among Dave's fans. All you need is a chicken tender of any spice level (Dave's has seven levels of spice), a side of mac and cheese, and the restaurant's special sauce. No one really knows the ingredients in Dave's sauce, but it's a spiced mayo with a similar texture and flavor to chipotle mayo. If you gather and assemble these three items in a heaping pile — mac and cheese, hot chicken, and a healthy dousing of sauce — you quite literally get a cheesy masterpiece.

This hack is such a craveable combination. The crispness of the chicken complements the mushy mac and cheese, and the sauce ties them together with some extra yet still essential flavor. It's reminiscent of a Chick-fil-A hack that blew up on TikTok that took mac and cheese and put it directly inside a chicken sandwich. The combo of mac and cheese with fried chicken is tried and true, so it's not surprising that people are doing it at Dave's too. Sure, mac and cheese with chicken is an indulgent dinner, but if you're eating fried chicken anyways, you might as well go all out.