S.S. Gai

Fried chicken? Nashville has as much of that as we do musicians who show up with a guitar and dream. But make it extra crispy, loaded with Thai flavors, and served with a healthy dose of tamarind fish sauce, and you’ve got something in a league of its own. Suddenly, you won’t be able to resist skipping your mid-day work meeting to plop down for lunch outside S.S. Gai, one of six food and drink vendors at a refurbished car wash (aptly named The Wash). The menu is pretty tight, and even includes some good grilled chicken, but go with the fried—if only to rip off bites of crackly skin, scoop up the fried shallots that’ll inevitably fall off, and shovel the whole thing into your mouth. Order some grilled peanuts to douse heartily in chili vinegar and cubes of fried mango sticky rice for dessert, too.