Guy Fieri Wanted To Give This Restaurant Owner A Hug After Trying His Fried Chicken On Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives

Watch any given episode of Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and it becomes quite obvious how ecstatic host Guy Fieri can get over good food. In nearly every episode, Fieri can be seen exclaiming how tasty the food at the featured restaurants tastes — but there was some fried chicken that made him want to go further and give a restaurant owner a hug. So by his response, we think it's a good bet to try the fried chicken at Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken in Memphis, Tennessee.

Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken was featured in the August 2008 episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" titled "Where the Locals Eat." Its owner, Louis Martin's great-grandmother, is partially to thank for the fried chicken recipe, when it comes to the breading loaded with black pepper and other spices like cinnamon. What also makes the fried chicken so special is that after it's deep fried, Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken dunks it in a sauce similar to Buffalo sauce that is sweet and spicy, thanks to ingredients like honey. The restaurant also slings a spicier version that has cayenne pepper in the sauce. As someone who adores fried chicken, I'd make the trek to Memphis just to try this version of the classic Southern delicacy.

Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken sells fried chicken but also chicken wings and tenders, which you can buy by the piece, as a combo, or as a family meal if you need to feed a crowd. Expect biscuits and sides like fried okra, coleslaw, potato salad, fries, and macaroni and cheese with honey. If fried chicken isn't necessarily your thing, Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken also has a variety of sandwiches, including a bacon sandwich that comes with 10 slices of the tasty meat. There are also desserts like strawberry shortcake and chess pie.

Another stand-out dish that was featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" is its whole fried chicken. That's right, not just wings or breasts. It's injected with a special marinade according to a clip from the episode. It's then deep-fried for a whopping 40 minutes, then doused in the same sauce and seasonings that its other fried chicken is finished with. So if you find yourself in Memphis with a craving for next-level fried chicken that's worth a hug, Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken is open seven days a week and even has a drive-thru.