Love Little Miss BBQ? Try Scott Holmes' tallow-fried chicken at Full Speed in Phoenix

Full Speed Chicken and Ribs opened on Roosevelt Row on April 26 in the space formerly occupied by Trap Haus BBQ. Owners Scott and Bekke Holmes are best known for their beloved Little Miss BBQ restaurants in Phoenix. And given their track record with mouth-watering barbecue, we were excited to see what Holmes can do with fried chicken.

On my visit, friendly staff at the register greeted customers as they walked in and gave recommendations when asked. Above the bar were photos of Little Miss BBQ, Hattie B's, Howlin Ray's and Tumble 22 with the inscription: "Places of Inspiration." Next to them, a menu board is updated as dishes run out.

Aside from the register, the front room just houses a bar counter and a few chairs. The main dining room is in the back. An exposed brick wall and wood beams give an industrial vibe to the space, yet it feels bright and cozy. Simple and small with booths to one side and chairs and tables to the other, there's space for around 34 diners, a few more out on the patio.

Holmes, dressed in a Full Speed t-shirt, periodically stopped by tables to talk to customers, answering questions from the general to the specific, like what's in the unputdownable mac and cheese (I had to ask).

"I'm an open book," he said, explaining that he uses a blend of white cheddar, parmesan and Romana cheeses.

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What's on the menu at Full Speed Chicken and Ribs

Besides the aforementioned mac and cheese, french fries and baked beans, the menu features fried chicken thighs and tenders that are cooked in brisket tallow, half and full racks of pork ribs, pulled pork and fried chicken sandwiches served on Noble Bread Portuguese buns or buttermilk biscuits. There are strawberry shortcake biscuits for dessert.

Platters come with two sides and sandwiches come with one. Everything can be ordered ala carte.

For drinks, guests have a choice of sodas or frozen lemonade as well as draft beer and two cocktails: one made with tequila and one with bourbon.

Fiery chicken and meltingly tender ribs

The chicken comes in three levels of spiciness: "Southern" for no spice, medium and "Hottie hot hot" for a full burn. Though usually I reach for the hottest, I decided to go with medium to keep my taste buds alert. I ordered a fried chicken sandwich on Noble's Portuguese bun and a side of mac and cheese, a platter of chicken tenders and two ribs with baked beans and coleslaw and a dessert. Food arrived within five minutes on metal trays lined with paper.

Golden brown chicken tenders jutted out of the bun. The tenders, which sit atop pickles, come drizzled with a house sauce similar to Thousand Island and topped with coleslaw. The chicken itself had a delicate, crisp crust, thanks to being fried in beef tallow, which lends a more complex flavor and a drier, less oily exterior. It had just the right spice level.

In addition to the texture and taste, Holmes said, "using beef tallow made sense since with Little Miss BBQ we can produce several hundred pounds of trimmed brisket fat. We realized with an extra hour or two of labor we can supply enough tallow to fill our fryers twice. It's nice to not only have a great fat to fry the chicken and french fries in but we get to be better stewards of the great beef that we get from our ranchers and the animals that make it all happen."

The mac and cheese I ordered as a side is a must. The three-cheese blend makes for a luscious, utterly addictive pasta that's worth the pain for those, like me, who can't tolerate dairy.

Next I turned my attention to the ribs. Ribs can be ordered with hot honey or barbecue sauce. I ordered the latter. One, meltingly tender bite of the subtle, sweet tangy meat made me realize exactly what Holmes meant when he said "barbecue is my jam."

The baked beans stood out because Holmes dials back on the sweetness. Pulled pork adds umami to the legume dish and spices like cumin, oregano and chili powder deepen the flavor. There's still a hint of sweet, though, and it's enhanced by sauteed onions.

Holmes is still tweaking a few things, like the biscuit (currently a little on the dense side) and the slaw (which could use more tang). "One of our core values is never stop improving," he said.

As for the strawberry shortcake biscuit, which is one of Holmes' favorite desserts, what stood out to me was the subtle sweetness and silkiness of the cream and the slight saltiness of the biscuit. Overall, it felt light.

And that was a theme of the meal for me. I expected a tray of ribs and fried chicken to weigh me down. It didn't and even left me room for dessert.

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Visit Full Speed Chicken and Ribs

On my next visit to Full Speed Chicken and Ribs, I plan to try the pulled pork, add even more heat to my chicken sandwich and bring home a container of mac and cheese.

The restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Prices: $6-$8 for fried chicken thighs and tenders, $3.50-$35 for ribs, $13-$18 for plates (includes two sides), $12-$13 for sandwiches, $4 for sides, $10 for desserts. Drinks range from $3-$3.50 for non-alcoholic and $5-$10 for alcoholic beverages.

Details: 513 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix.602-237-5292, eatfullspeed.com.

Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow @banooshahr on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What to try first at Full Speed Chicken and Ribs in downtown Phoenix