Somebody recently used our (underutilized) “Contact Us” form to ask: “Where’s the best fried chicken?” I can answer this one.
The best fried chicken is at my mom’s house. Unfortunately, her house is not open as a restaurant, so you don’t get to experience it. I can tell you about how she makes it, though. She buys the whole chicken, cuts it up, puts on a breading, and fries it. Then she uses the grease to make gravy (milk-based, Southern style) to go on biscuits and homemade mashed potatoes. This is one of the best meals possible. It’s time-consuming, but worth it.
Which restaurant has the best fried chicken? That’s hard to answer. I don’t often get fried chicken at restaurants anymore because it’s somewhat disappointing by comparison. I would recommend looking for some country-style kitchen where they cook everything from scratch. Find one that’s not a chain, where it’s older people working there, who cook for others because they like to. A place where the food is cooked to be delicious, rather than squeezing out more profits. A place where they use real butter. We have a few of these where I live, and the food is consistently good.
There are probably chain restaurants with good fried chicken. You could ask for suggestions from friends who have similar taste preferences. If you ask online, you’ll get answers that will include almost every restaurant*. Perhaps you should make this your own adventure quest: over the next few months, try different restaurants to see whose is the best. It’s a fun time. 🙂
I wish I had more answers on this. Ultimately, the best option is learning to cook it yourself. It’s more work that way, but it tastes better, and it saves you money, too.
* I saw this with an online discussion for the best pizza place in my town. It was funny for how absurd it was. People listed every single pizza place there is, including gas stations and the lowest-cost pizza places where the main emphasis is the low-cost. Someone mentioned a place that’s more famous for children’s games and parties, where the pizza is definitely not high quality. I don’t want to dis’ them by name, because they all have a role, if that’s what you’re looking for, and we all have our preferences. But to say they have the best pizza is absurd. I recommend asking friends who like the same restaurants as you.
What do you think about the idea of a food adventure quest where you find the best instance of a type of food in your city?
Buffet o' Blog 
Lively Life
I like this idea! I did it once with poutine in my city! I find it interesting when the most expensive isn’t the one you like the best! And this isn’t counting the overall experience, the atmosphere, etc. But those could also be added to categories of rating!
Buffet o' Blog
Glad you like the idea. It seems obvious as a good idea once you think of it, but for some reason people don’t often think that way.
I had to look up what poutine is. Apparently it’s a Canadian comfort food, made from fries, brown gravy, and cheese curds. Sounds good. I’m from the south region of the United States and haven’t heard of that. We usually have white gravy (made from grease, flour, and milk), and while we have fried breaded cheese, we don’t have cheese curds. I have had those elsewhere and they were great.
It’s neat to learn of other regional comfort foods. Here we have cheese dip everywhere, and a while back I found out that most of the world doesn’t know what it is. It’s a shame, too, because it’s great, so everyone should know. So I write about it every so often. Here’s a link, if you don’t already know: what is cheese dip?
Lively Life
So the link was helpful and fun and now I know more specifics of cheese dip and next grocery trip intend to buy! I have heard of it and have had variations of the stuff. Hockey games or drive in movies or even just movie theatre, they are a staple. But maybe not quite the kind you describe! I like how there are many different versions.
And how dramatic- how poutine is so known here but a mere country over, it has never been heard of. Such is the way of living a life that is as big as this world!