I’ve always liked Merchant as a place for cocktails, and now I’m digging its ghost kitchen called Duck Lips Hot Chicken.
Not surprisingly, you’re going to find Nashville hot chicken on the menu. In one form, I enjoyed the Nashville hot wings ($9 for six, $13.50 for 12, $24 for 24) for their smokiness–in fact, you’ll lick your fingers afterward. By the way, the wings look nothing like their photo on the website, which shows what appears to be BBQ wings that are not even on the menu.
The same goes for the root coleslaw, which was purple, unlike the photo on the website. I actually liked the slaw, but it would have been much better with some mayo or vinegar.
Back to the Nashville hot. You can get a two-piece platter for $15.50. I mistook the chicken breast as a thigh for its small size. Both it and the leg were overcooked, so I had to dip them in bleu cheese now and then, but they were still delicious. I ordered the hottest level of spice, called “stupid hot,” and I would classify it as a 7 on a 10-point heat scale.
You can tell the chicken is good because I also ordered the plain (non-Nashville hot) fried chicken platter ($15.50). Moist and well-seasoned, this is what you want your fried chicken to be.
Similarly, the fried fish sando ($10.50) was incredible. It’s flaky cod inside the breading for fried chicken, in some way resembling KFC original recipe. Nice twist on a Wisconsin staple.
Make sure you order some fries for the sole purpose of dipping into the Lip Dip sauce, which is a mix of sweet chili and bleu cheese sauces, sort of like a tangier, thinner Thousand Island sauce.
End your meal with the upside-down peach cake. It’s spongey and sweet, and I love the honey added to it.
Duck Lips Hot Chicken is open for delivery and carryout during dinner time Tuesday through Sunday.
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See more photos in our Duck Lips Hot Chicken Flickr album.
