Meatless Madison: Adamah’s Nashville ‘Chicken’ Sandwich

Madison Magazine, December 9, 2019

Jason Kierce, executive chef at Adamah Neighborhood Table, isn’t a vegan but he does have a special place in his heart for the people who choose to follow a plant-based diet.

“I don’t know why I have this yearning to fight for vegans,” Kierce says. “Maybe I admire it? I think it would be quite difficult.”

At his kosher-certified, deli-focused restaurant in the UW Hillel center on campus, Kierce always makes sure to have several vegan items on the menu and many others, including the Shakshuka, a rustic dish made by poaching eggs in tomato sauce, which can be easily modified to be vegan. Kierce’s vegan version substitutes a tofu “egg” instead.

“There are 22 items on the menu that are vegan,” Kierce says.

A new vegan item that Kierce added this fall has recently been getting a lot of attention. “The Nashville chicken is the thing now,” Kierce says.

Originally from Alabama, Kierce is quite familiar with fried chicken, but the idea of developing a vegan version of the popular sandwich didn’t occur to him until it was requested.