Fancy-ish fried-chicken joints are hatching around D.C.
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Fancy Ranch platters with crispy waffles and caviar toppers. Photo: Courtesy of Farrah Skeiky
Two cheffy fried-chicken joints just opened for your crunchy cravings.
The big picture: Like with sandwiches and pizza, fine-dining chefs love letting loose with fried chicken — blame budgets, nostalgia or plain deliciousness.
- Take Hot Lola's from Moon Rabbit's Kevin Tien or Elias Tadesse's Ethio-fried chicken at Melange/Doro Soul Food.
State of pluck: Fancy Ranch Amish Fried Chicken just flew the coop from upscale Shilling Canning Co. in Navy Yard — where it was a best-seller dish — to a pop-up inside Union Market.
- Chef Reid Shilling and Sara Quinteros took over a prime bar space for their buttermilk-brined Amish birds — served in multi-piece meals with corn waffles, classic sides and sauces.
- Brunch platters are here. Boozy drinks are coming soon.
💎 If fancy ranch dunking sauce doesn't do the trick, try a cheffy caviar topper for wings and waffles.
Meanwhile, Michelin-starred duo Carey and Yuan Tan (Rooster & Owl) just hatched Side Chick in Falls Church, adjoining Ellie Bird. The Asian-style takeout stars whole or half birds, or chicken sammies, served with:
- Bibingka (Filipino-style cornbread).
- Sides like smashed cucumbers with garlic-chili crunch or three-cheese miso mac.
- Tasty dippers: ginger-scallion aioli and kimchi honey.
Plus: Pastry chef Corey Jamison dreamed up single-serve desserts like Vietnamese coffee tiramisu with dark chocolate cookie crunch.
Between the lines: Chefs are flocking to fried chicken for a reason: "The state of the industry and the world demanded a pivot just like pandemic times, so we knew it was time to bring our most casual and irreverent cuisine to diners," says Carey Tang, who ran a takeaway during COVID.