Six Chickens

The question is often asked, and I’ve asked it a lot myself: who doesn’t love fried chicken? In this town we have a lot of great fried chicken, because we have a lot of great food. It follows. But we often talk about fried chicken on The Food Show, so I have recently been thinking of it. Again.

I have always approached this work as a subjective thing. There is no definitive best anything. It’s all so subjective. I have often said it’s a big world, and if we all wanted the same person, same job, same dwelling, what mayhem! But in the food world, there are better versions of everything (in this case fried chicken) based on things like better ingredients: smaller or larger birds, bloated or not, better skill in preparation: greasy or greaseless, and style, always defined by the crust: breadcrumbs, flour, dipping once or twice, minimum or maximum crust, etc. And none of these factors has anything to do with popularity. 

So with that disclaimer let me offer this list of a half dozen great fried chicken places, based only on my favorites, which I can’t even forcefully declare. The second half will run in the next newsletter. Tom always did his “Dozen Best,”and this is my version of that.

My personal favorite fried chicken in town is not widely available. “Carl’s fried chicken” was started as a “thing” on Monday nights at The Fountain Lounge in The Roosevelt Hotel, mainly to get people in there on slow Monday evenings. It was love at first sight for me. It was set up as a buffet on press night, but on subsequent visits it comes to the table as a basket of chicken with sides and biscuits with honey. Carl was an employee in the kitchen who made it for the staff as their lunch special each week. It was so beloved they made a night of it for the public, and I’m so glad they did. It is fantastic. Carl retired a few years after its debut and they didn’t preserve his legacy by keeping his name on it, so I’m acknowledging it right here. This is hot, both in flavor and temperature, thick crust, and crispy. Carl’s fried chicken is the spicy version, sometimes so much so that it is at the “threshold” between divine and not worth it. Nothing can stand up to this much flavor, but these sides are worthy accompaniments. Only available on Mondays.

Galatoire's has a terrific fried chicken that no one ever sees unless they book a spot at the quarterly Fried Chicken Brunch, a marvelously eclectic feast featuring all-you-can-eat-fried chicken with ‘fixins, and endless champagne. It is always held on a Sunday, always in Galatoire’s 33, and it always has the same menu: fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, and corn, with cornbread. The ‘fixins are lackluster because the main attractions are the unlimited chicken and champagne.

Dropping way down the stature scale, Mother’s has a very nice fried chicken. It comes in three pieces with two sides. The chicken is extra crispy and greaseless with a lot of flavor, mostly from salt (though I don’t view that as a bad thing.) The sides are ordinary, but this is outstanding fried chicken.

The fried chicken at Frankie & Johnny’s was so fantastic I was taken aback by it. The breading on it was unusual. Unlike most fried chicken out there, this was a a light crust kind of like Mom would make, especially if she was doing it in the middle of the last century. A perfectly seasoned batter, greaseless and appropriately crispy.

Leah Chase was legendary for so much, but her fried chicken has always been a big draw at Dooky Chase, along with all the Creole classics. The chicken is greaseless, crunchy and seasoned with just the right amount of everything. 

Fried chicken is just one of the many things that legendary Rocky & Carlo’s is known for. I can’t even decide if it’s my favorite thing, but I absolutely love it. It is everything a great fried chicken should be: hot, greaseless, crispy, crunchy, and packed with flavor. Perfection.

In New Orleans, we love fried things, all fried things, and some more than others. Fried chicken is definitely a favorite fried thing, and any of these will fit the bill when you need a good fried chicken fix. The second half dozen next time.