finger lickin

Fried chicken, comforting, simple, humble, and my fav food. If I can eat something every day, it would probably be sushi. But if I can eat something everyday and NOT die of coronary failure, it would be fried chicken (with a nice cold beer) (and stuffing w/gravy) (and collard greens) (and corn bread - really the cake's excuse to be savory). It's an internal battle whenever I see fried chicken on a menu, the battle between the greedy eater and the health-loving conscience. Of course the chubby greedy eater always wins out the emaciated (but healthy) conscience. And so fried chicken is consumed yet again.

I was uptown at my alma mater visiting a friend of mine the other day when I strolled by Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too with a giant sign that said "Best Fried Chicken and Collard Greens". Oh man, that's the combination code to my stomach.

Settling down in comfy restaurant, I browsed the menu with a nice cold Sugar Hill ale (brewed by Harlem Brewery, nutty and sweet, delicious). A mini panic attack hit. What to choose! Plain fried chicken or smothered, stuffing or mac and cheese, collard greens? Oh no! I want to devour them all! After much deliberation and almost finishing a whole bottle of Sugar Hill, I settled on the smothered chicken with collard greens and corn bread stuffing. Confident in my choice (and appeased by the fact my co-eaters were ordering all the other stuff I wanted to try), I waited impatiently as my stomach grumbled to the fragrant smells wafting through the restaurant.

The generous platter came out, all smothered in rich, brown gravy. The chicken (I requested for all dark meat of course) was beyond tender. The meat was almost creamy, I imagine from buttermilk. The spices penetrated through the entire piece, every bite exploded with flavor. I loved how the crispy skin softened and flaked in the pool of gravy, deepening the richness and adding texture to the entire dish.

I also loved the assorted sides/apps I tried, notably, the gumbo, collard green spinach. The meal closed with a mug of Miss Mamie's sweet tea - thoroughly refreshing after the hearty meal. The mint tea, lightly sweetened, cleansed the palate - though I was pretty happy to allow the fragrant meal linger.