United States of Fried Chicken

I recently got back from a wonderful East Coast trip of the USA with my best friend and we quickly found out that our love for friend chicken is insatiable so we tried to have as much of it as we possibly could.

 Fancy and Fried

Our hands down favorite spot was Willa Mae’s Scotch House in New Orleans, Louisiana. If you have never been to New Orleans, I suggest that you take a second to read this post or this one. Anyway, back to the chicken, Willa Mae’s has held the title of America’s Best Fried Chicken for years and deservedly so.

Despite the popularity of the joint, we were seated relatively quickly and as I walked in, I noticed that there were all kinds of people at Willa Mae’s: business men with their jackets off who snuck out of work for a quick bite, families of all ethnic origins and couples of all ages.

 It took a little longer than expected for the food to arrive- about 15-20 mins- but one bite into the meal, we asked for an extra plate of chicken because it was THAT good. We ordered a variety of sides and all of them were good with my favorite being the mashed potatoes and mac & cheese. The chicken was a tad too salty for me but overall, I can’t really complain about anything at the restaurant. It was just comfortable, the food was good and the service was efficient.

 I have written about BobWhite Counter in New York before (here) so I won’t get into it but the reason it comes second to Willa Mae’s this time is because of inconsistency with the sides. I have been there three times now and the mac & cheese just wasn’t up to par.

Fast and Fried

 No fried chicken list is complete without a nod to the type of food that can be accessed by anyone and that’s why I included a fast food section in this post.

 If you have ever had Chick-fil-A nuggets then you know exactly why I am writing about them (and the lemonade isn’t bad either). These golden nuggets of perfection are small and have are delicious every single time.  I personally enjoy them without any sauce (or sides) but I do like the Honey Mustard sauce. We loved Chick-fil-A so much that we returned to a sketchy part of Orlando twice in order to have some.

 I have written about my love for Raising Cane’s before and the sides at Cane’s are amazing and so is the story of how it was founded. The chicken tenders are truly amazing but my favorite thing is the side of bread that they give you.