Matt Kettmann

There’s no need to go to Nashville for hot chicken. Just head to Sama Sama on State Street, and order the Hot Chicken Bao ($13). Sure, you can order the bun fried, but we recommend you go full-steamed bao ahead.

The rule with anything truly hot and spicy is that you need something soft and comforting to contain it. Rather than thick slices of white bread, the steamed bun on this sandwich acts like a pillow to hold the perfectly fried and sauced chicken inside. A honey-cayenne butter coating on the bun along with creamy spicy aioli, arugula, pickles, and pickled onions work together to make this sandwich a real menu standout. This dish, with the combination of spicy, sweet, tangy, crispy, and oh-so-soft, is something you need to wrap your hands around and sink your teeth into.

While other fried chicken may be so-called finger lickin’, this steamed hot chicken bao is absolutely teeth-sticking good. The soft, malleable dough will be adhered to your chompers in a way that we can only recommend washing down with a swig of a fancy cocktail at the bar.

1208 State St, Santa Barbara; (805) 965-4566; samasamakitchen.com

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