Extra Pickles, Please: Regional Specialties at Split Lip
Denver Rising Star Restaurateurs Adam Branz and Jessica Richter talk through the history of some of their favorite Americana-style dishes at Split Lip, an Eat Place.
Illustration: Bashel Lubarsky
Hot Chicken Sandwich (TN)
Legend has it, a woman was pissed at her man for staying out all night cheating, so she took her revenge with a fist full of chiles on his chicken. He loved it. And with that, Hot Chicken was born in Nashville and popularized at Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack. We shoot for a stronger depth of flavor with our chicken, instead of the normal cayenne-forward recipes out there. We infuse our shortening with different dried chiles such as pequin, árbol, and guajillo, as well as normal “bbq” seasonings and citric acid. The result is hot, sweet, acidic, and has a lingering flavor of roasted nuts and chocolate. We serve our hot chicken in sandwich form as well as bone-in for events and collabs.
Mama Tried Salad (PA)
When researching regional American salads for our menu, we came across the Pittsburgh Salad… a beautiful mess of dressed veggies and meats topped with french fries. It immediately became a top-seller. We toss our greens with dill, chives, cucumber, tomato confit, shredded cheddar, lemon juice, and a pimento buttermilk dressing. The fries are dusted in dill pickle powder and scattered across the top. We always tell people it’s like if a chef were making a salad for you at a salad bar. Power move… add hot fried chicken and take a nap.
Slug Burger (MS)
We discovered slugs from The Great American Burger Book by Burger Historian George Motz. Originating in Corinth, Mississippi, the Slug Burger is a beef or pork patty mixed with an “extender,” such as soybeans. We use the pre-Depression era recipe—ground beef mixed with breadcrumbs (a nod to Motz). We cook it Tennessee Fry Burger-style by deep-frying the beef and melting the cheese with the same fat, similar to what you would see at Dyers in Memphis. The breadcrumbs in the burger get extra crispy, so it eats like a country fried steak of sorts. We wanted to give it a “cheffy” element, so we added a pequin chile mayo mixed with mustard and just a touch of ketchup. The result is an unctuous, greasy burger with a sweet-and-spicy sauce and too many pickles—there are never enough pickles.
Bonus: Pork Tenderloin (IN)
The pork tenderloin sandwich originated in Indiana and is dated back as far as 1904. Adam is from southern Illinois, and this sandwich has been one of his favorites for years. The pork is pounded into a ridiculously large, thin schnitzel after first being brined. Then it’s fried and given a “Chicago Dog” treatment. We top it with ground sport peppers, tomato powder, celery seeds, poppy seeds and MSG (because it's awesome). The schnitzel hits the bun and gets more seeds, pickle brine, marinated shaved onion, mustard, and a tomato-sport pepper relish. Fucking incredible.
