Fried Chicken

[Wesley Tucker]

Since Binky asked about Bar-B-Que, I'll ask about my other indescibable delight: the search for the perfect fried chicken!

Right now, I've got a tie between two places (not counting my own deep fried delicacies. My fried chicken in awesome people, no joke.) Anyway, there's a string of small, family owned restaurants in Columbia, South Carolina called Lizard's Thicket. Lizard's is sort of like chinese restaurants everywhere else: wheneven a restaurant closes and goes out of business, Lizard's will be in there within two weeks with their own menu and slingin' hash like mad men. They have the classic "one meat, three vegetables" plate with a menu that hangs on the wall. You just mix and match what you want and they bring it up faster than you can get food from the drive thru at McDonald's.

Their fried chicken is very traditional with a minimum of spices, skinned, a light breading and fried to PERFECTION. I mean every piece of white meat they serve up is just like the next: perfect. (White meat only for me. I gave up on thighs and legs as as kid.)

Another place that maybe 66 or some of the Florida guys will know is Carey Hilliards. It's a small chain of restaurants out of Savannah with one real close to I-95 in Pooler. They opened one in North Charleston about 20 years ago and I've eaten there at least once a month ever since. They have a different approach to chicken with a selection of spices and herbs, plus they don't skin the chicken before they fry. Also, I've never been able to tell if they pressure fry their chicken or do it in an open fryer, but it comes out piping hot with a very delicate crust that is just out of this world. It's nothing like the Colonel's secret herb nonsense, but their chicken is seasoned differently than any place else I've ever tried. Really delicious.

Anyway, that's my two picks (well, three including my own!)

[John Gilmour]

let's have some recipes.

I remember Thrasher used to do a section on skater grub.

How about posting up some of the secrets to southern cooking?

Ask the restaurant for the recipe- and post it up. I might just cook it for everyone at the next race.