I'm telling you with all my heart, if you're ever in St. Louis you have to stop by Southern.
https://www.stlsouthern.com/
It's beyond good eats, it's quasi-religious, and Pappy's is right next door.
Their cluckin' hot chicken might be the hottest thing I've eaten ever, and I've eaten hot. It's the sugar and the oil that does it. They do like you do with the bloomed oil,
but their cluckin' is bloomed with Bhut Jalokia. and it sticks to your insides so you have vivid dreams for nights later. Luckily I still haven't had . . . evacuation problems, . . . some people have with spicy food, but their chicken got as close as I ever have with some tummy rumblings later.
But it's also delicious when it's not hot. All the sides have something [maddeningly unidentifiable] that makes it the perfect version of whatever it is.
My secret is to get their second hottest, and ask for a side of cluckin' hot sauce to go with. That way you can meter the heat at the meal, and if you don't use all the extra side, you have sauce to take home. When I take it home, I guard it like the royal jewels, yet I'm constantly looking for something new to put it on. Putting a little on top can make even the most pedestrian red beans and rice a revelation.