Takeout Fried Chicken

[tissue]

I love Popeyes because I like the spiciness of it.

I used to work near Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, and their fried chicken was really good. It's not really a drive through though.

[Susan in FL]

Yum, a good topic.

I've never had any take-out chicken as good as English's, from when we lived in Delmarva. Does anybody know of this? I'm wondering if it's still up there.

I do not like KFC.

In this area, so far, the fried chicken from the Publix deli is my favorite.

[pjs]

Susan, check out the Church's on Orange Ave. next to the police station. They have a $1.99 special which consists of a leg, a thigh, a biscuit and a small container of mashed (trash the potatoes immediately). The biscuits are good and so is the chicken. I think the problem with Church's in general is that the final product is so dependant on the care taken and skill in the prep by the individual operator, moreso that the other chains. It is hand-dipped.

Otherwise there is always the Popeye's on Ridgewood. Spicy please.

KFC? Only late at night, in distant, unfamilar towns where it is the only place still open besides the 7-11.

PJ

[Susan in FL]

Hey, PJ! Will check out Church's, thanks.

[mongo_jones]

I used to work near Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, and their fried chicken was really good. It's not really a drive through though.

mmmm roscoe's chicken and waffles.....more things to miss about l.a. still don't know why chicken and waffles--but when things are good it is best not to ask questions.

[Shiewie]

We only have KFC here in Malaysia. No Popeye's or Roy Rogers. But McDonalds and Burger King here both serve fried chicken as well.

I prefer KFC Original Recipe too (too much batter on the Hot and Spicy) but the turmeric marinated fried chicken from the Indian Muslim and Malay eateries come a pretty close second.

[MGLloyd]

In the Seattle area, the best is a small local chain called Ezell's. Oprah is quite fond of it, in case some people think that is an endorsement.

[Ling]

I think Church's chicken is the best, at least up here in Vancouver. The meat is juicy and the breading is crisp. At KFC, the breading is always a little soggier. I haven't had Popeye's, but I know there's a location about 40 minutes away from where I live.

My favorite fried chicken is from a little Taiwanese restaurant up here though. The breading is so crunchy, and the chicken is amazingly juicy. The best part is the sauce--rather sweet, like thick soy sauce and sugar boiled down and thickened with cornstarch. Don't know what else is in it.

[SobaAddict70]

Wow, no wonder I'd never heard of "Church's" until I clicked on the link.

Just a handful of stores in the Manhattan area.

I should get out of NYC more often.

Soba

[wesza]

In the Seattle area, the best is a small local chain called Ezell's.  Oprah is quite fond of it, in case some people think that is an endorsement.

MGLoyd:

I'll second the "EZELL"S" but only from the Original Shop located in the Central District.

Ezells is also very popular with all the Sports Teams that visit Seattle, NBA, Baseball, Football as a Clubhouse or take to the Hotel Favorite after the game.

My Biggest "YUCK" "BLAH" and even worst with "KFC", is that they admit to Marinating their Poultry. [This means adding Salt, TSP, additives and whatever else they can get away with]. It doesn't have any actual Chicken Taste or Flavor, no matter how much you try to find the bird. Tastes from Breading, Salt and Enhancers. What surprises me is that their Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Bisquits, Coles Law and Potato Salad are sides more acceptable then the Chicken in Seattle

Still find that the best tasting Chicken served fried is what's available in some of the Soul Food, Southern places in the South, especially where they have available Local Poultry.

Poultry really tasted better before the Producers teamed with our "USDA" receiving a thumbs up from them to enhance the Poultry for a Phony reason that only meant more Fluid Absorption, better Profits, no need to tell the Consumers and it worked so well that it's now permitted for Pork, Beef and all other Poultry.

That's why the Free Range . and some Organic, No Additive Birds taste like Chicken.

Buy them, then Fry them at Home!

Irwin

Edited March 30, 2004 by wesza (log)

[Dana]

Hands down, Popeye's. their biscuits and red beans and rice are the best, and the spicy chicken is delish. The Church's here use chickens that are too large, so the pieces are too large, and sometimes kinda tough.

[stephenc]

BOJANGLES.

[aprilmei]

Has anybody tried Chinese fried chicken? It's the type usually sold at Chinese barbecue meat shops. Not all of them have it, though. It's very different - marinated, dipped in a batter and fried. It can be awful if it's been sitting around for a long time - heavy and oily. But when it's freshly fried, it's delish.

[phaelon56]

Actually... should we perhaps be discussing who has the best takeout of fried genetically engineered organisms?

KFC Hoax

[bilrus]

Wow, no wonder I'd never heard of "Church's" until I clicked on the link.

Just a handful of stores in the Manhattan area.

I should get out of NYC more often.

Soba

You've got enough good stuff in Manhattan to worry about leaving just for Church's fried chicken. It's really not that good.

[chickenlady]

Yeasr ago we had a few places locally, all small operations, that went under the name "Broaster Hut".  Their claim to fame was "broasted"chicken and I'll be damned if I know what it is but it seemed to be a specific appliance that was used to cook it...

Does anyone else remember this chicken?

All the gas stations up here seem to sell "Broasted Chicken," but I've never tried it as I generally try to avoid getting a meal from a gas station. I'm not really sure what it is either, but it does still live on in Upstate NY.

Actually, I have to take back the not eating at the gas station thing... My favorite fried chicken comes from the "Rib & Clam Shack" (that's what we call it--I don't think it actually has a name). When we moved up here, our friend kept telling us that this little shack in the gas station parking lot has the best ribs & clams. My husband finally convinced me that I wouldn't die if I ate in a parking lot (I'm sure there was some sort of bribery involved as well). Anyway, I don't eat ribs & there was no way I was going to break my "gas-station fast" with clams!!! So I got their fried chicken fingers and they are definitely the best I've ever had. They're obviously freshly breaded and fried to order, nice & juicy with a very light breading. The ambiance may be lacking, but Yum!! The clams are actually pretty damn good too!

[nessa]

I have an emotional attachment to KFC.

I have not had fried chicken in over two years so FREAKIN THANKS for making me crave it to distraction. My dad loves KFC, and as a matter of fact, aside from Grandma's its the ONLY fried chicken we ever had growing up. Mother fried nothing. Ever. I learned to fry chicken from a friend's mom in highschool.

Dad loves their coleslaw, and original. I liked the spicy crispy or something. Its been so long.

I did have Pop-eye's a few years back, and loved the spiciness. But all the grease made me intensely ill. Last fried chicken I had was KFC's popcorn chicken.

I was very underwhelmed, it was bland blah and a waste of calories.

But now, thanks to you guy's I have to have some crispy, spicy skin-on fried chicken, and soon!

[phaelon56]

All the gas stations up here seem to sell "Broasted Chicken," but I've never tried it as I generally try to avoid getting a meal from a gas station. I'm not really sure what it is either, but it does still live on in Upstate NY.

Chickenlady - you're in upstate NY? Where is the Rib and Clam Shack that you refer to? I'm always interested in trying a food joint with "shack" in the name.... particularly if it's located ina real shack.

I'm no more inclined to eat gas station chicken than I am to eat the hotdogs or pizza they serve.

[Fat Guy]

Isn't "Broasted" a trademark? At least, that's what Broaster Foods says.

"Broaster® and Broasted® are registered trademarks of The Broaster Company, Beloit, Wisconsin. All rights reserved."

http://www.broaster.com/whatisgbc.htm

[wilewil]

Roy's still exists. In the area where Marriott never sold, the turpike etc. and NYC and north there are quite a few. In Roy's home territory (Washington DC etc.) a few brave franchisees have held out through Hardees and McDonalds. For a previous poster, yes even in NVA. One franchisee has three in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County (Kingstowne, route 1, and Woodlawn). The family who had the franchise in Frederick MD and vicinity has several open, including two in Leesburg VA. They say they will expand further in NVA and MD. McD's must not be too happy, but they can't do anything about it. They were desperite to get the Roy's locations closed. They even paid some of the franchisees large amounts for their land and stores (especially those that were involved in beating Hardee's attempt to convert them). In Springfield VA they razed the Roy's and built a new McD's on the site. Less than a block away was an existing Mc's, if it was a franchise, and it probably was, that guy must have been fuming. After about a year the older Mc's has now been closed and soon will be a Vietnamese restaurant. Ah the joys of franchising!

[yellow truffle]

Interesting to see such an outpouring of support for KFC. I see KFC as being at the bottom of the pecking order of the major fried chicken chains.

I agree with you Fat Guy and that is exactly why I go to KFC. It's fast food. It doesn't need to be tip top, just satisfy an urge. Same reason why I go to White Castle for their grade d beef. Both of them load their products up with so many chemicals that make it taste so yummy. Asides from convenience, isn't that one of the reason why we go for fast food?

[jhlurie]

I'll be bad and go slightly off topic for a moment to make a brave confession...

...I didn't hate Kenny Roger's Roasters when it was a common chain. Also, to this day, I still think of that Seinfeld episode where the red neon chicken sign from the KRR drives Kramer and Jerry up the wall.

[browniebaker]

Popeye's spicy fried chicken and I go back a long way, to college when we would make midnight runs for a big box (each). If you ever see how the chicken sits in crater of congealed white fat when you take it out of the fridge, you might think you'd become immune to its charms. But, no, I love the stuff anyway.

But a fried chicken I like just as much as Popeye's is something different, sui generis: the fried chicken-wings at Chinese restaurants. The ones I get at my favorite Chinese buffet are fried mahogany-brown with a very thin, crispy flour-coating on the skin. Wings are the perfect medium, giving a high ratio of crispy coated skin to meat. The meat inside is deliciously marinaded. I wish I knew the secret. Maybe it's lots of MSG.

edit: typo

Edited March 30, 2004 by browniebaker (log)

[jhlurie]

Plus the guy at my local chinese takeout joint, to this day, calls it "flied chicken". Perhaps its not completely politically correct to find someone else's lingual difficulties funny (I'm sure the five words of Mandarin Chinese I know sound hilarious to a native speaker), but you know... I can't help myself. It's like that Chinese restaurant scene in that "A Christmas Story" movie. Just funny.

[tastykimmie]

BOJANGLES.

MY SENTMENTS EXACTLY!!!