14 editor-picked fried chicken restaurants across 9 cities.
Fried chicken is the world's most universal cooking technique applied to the world's most universal protein, and the global fried chicken tradition has at least five distinct culinary lineages worth knowing. The Southern American (Black-Southern, soul food rooted) tradition uses a buttermilk soak and a seasoned flour dredge, then fries in lard or peanut oil in cast iron or a deep fryer, producing the chicken that ancestrally defines KFC, Popeyes, and the great regional fryers from Willie Mae's Scotch House in New Orleans to Gus's World Famous in Memphis. Nashville hot chicken (covered separately) is its own subcategory built on this Southern foundation. Buffalo wings, the Anchor Bar invention from 1964 Buffalo, NY, are a related but distinct American tradition.
Korean fried chicken (KFC, the local name) is twice-fried (an initial fry to cook through, a second fry to crisp the skin), often glazed with a sweet-spicy gochujang sauce, and served as a beer-and-chicken (chimaek) drinking food. The chain Bonchon and the older Mom's Touch, BBQ Chicken, and Kyochon are the major players, and the cuisine has spread globally over the past 20 years.
Japanese karaage (deep-fried bite-sized chicken thigh, marinated in soy and ginger and garlic, dredged in potato starch) is the country's dominant fried chicken, with regional specialties (Oita's toriten in tempura batter, Nagoya's spicy tebasaki wings, Hokkaido's zangi). Taiwanese popcorn chicken (yan su ji, bite-sized chicken seasoned with five-spice and fried with basil) is the night-market tradition that gave its name to the bite-sized format. And the broader frying traditions of Filipino chicken (often marinated in soy and citrus), Thai gai tod (deep-fried with coriander root and turmeric), and Hawaiian mochiko chicken (marinated and dredged in mochiko rice flour) round out the global picture.
Buttermilk-brined, seasoned-flour-dredged, fried in lard or peanut oil, often in cast iron. The lineage from Willie Mae's Scotch House (New Orleans) to Gus's World Famous (Memphis) to Prince's Hot Chicken (Nashville, separate hot tradition) to Popeyes (the chain that elevated mass-market Southern fried chicken in the 2010s and 2020s).
Covered in its own pillar. Southern fried chicken coated in a paste of lard, cayenne, brown sugar, and other spices, served on white bread with pickles. Prince's Hot Chicken (1945) is the origin.
Twice-fried, glazed with sweet-spicy sauce (yangnyeom) or soy-garlic. Served whole or in pieces with pickled radish and Korean beer. Bonchon, Kyochon, Mom's Touch, BBQ Chicken (no relation to American BBQ) are the chains. The chimaek (chicken and beer) culture is one of the great late-night Seoul food traditions.
Bite-sized chicken thigh marinated in soy, ginger, garlic, and sake, dredged in potato or wheat starch, deep-fried. Regional variants include Oita's toriten (tempura-battered), Nagoya's spicy tebasaki wings, Hokkaido's zangi, and tatsuta-age (with rice vinegar).
Bite-sized chicken seasoned with five-spice powder, white pepper, garlic, and rice wine, dredged in sweet potato starch, fried with whole basil leaves (which crisp into a fragrant crunch). The defining Taipei night-market street food.
At a Southern fried chicken spot, the standard order is two or three pieces (dark and white meat mix) with two sides (mac and cheese, collards, mashed potatoes, mac salad, slaw), biscuits or cornbread, and sweet tea. At a Korean fried chicken place (Bonchon, Kyochon), order a whole chicken (or half) cut into pieces, often half soy-garlic and half yangnyeom (the banban order), with pickled radish and beer. At a Japanese izakaya, karaage is a small plate or appetizer; one order is a 6 to 8 piece portion shared by 2 to 3 people. At a Taiwanese night-market stall, popcorn chicken is a single-person snack.
The rookie mistakes: ordering all white meat at a Southern fried chicken place (the dark meat is where the flavor lives), expecting a 5-minute wait at a serious Korean fried chicken place (it is twice-fried to order and takes 20 to 30 minutes minimum), missing the pickled radish with Korean chicken (it is the essential palate cleanser), and confusing karaage with chicken katsu (karaage is small marinated pieces, katsu is breaded cutlet).
American fried chicken pairs canonically with cold beer (lager or pilsner), sweet tea, lemonade, or buttermilk. Korean fried chicken with cold draft beer is the chimaek tradition; soju on the side. Japanese karaage with cold lager or sake. Taiwanese popcorn chicken with bubble tea or boba milk tea. The dryness of fried chicken makes a carbonated drink the universal companion; the saltiness makes cold and crisp the right register. Champagne is a serious-people pairing with high-end fried chicken (the bubbles and acidity cut the fat beautifully).
Southern American: Willie Mae's Scotch House (New Orleans), Gus's World Famous (Memphis and now national), Prince's and Hattie B's for the Nashville hot tradition, Roscoe's (LA, chicken and waffles), Bayou Bakery and Astro Beer Hall (DC). Korean: Seoul holds the deepest scene (Kyochon, Bonchon, Mom's Touch, Kkanbu Chicken), with strong satellite scenes in Los Angeles (Koreatown), New York (Flushing and Korean midtown), and Sydney. Japanese karaage: Tokyo izakayas; Hokkaido for zangi. Taiwanese popcorn chicken: Taipei night markets, especially Shilin. London, Sydney, and New York all have serious global fried chicken scenes with all five lineages represented.
Fried chicken in the American Southern lineage descends from West African pan-frying traditions and the Scottish-Irish tradition of frying chicken in lard (both arriving in the South in the 18th and 19th centuries). The Black-Southern tradition codified the buttermilk soak and seasoned dredge. Korean fried chicken developed in the late 20th century, with the modern double-fry-and-glaze format emerging in the 1980s and 1990s; the chimaek (chicken and beer) culture is from the same era. Karaage emerged in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s as Chinese-influenced home cooking, becoming an izakaya standard by the postwar period.
Technique. Korean fried chicken is twice-fried (low temp to cook through, high temp to crisp) and typically glazed with a sauce after frying. Southern fried chicken is dredged in flour, fried once at a moderate-high temperature, and served without a glaze (the seasoning is in the flour and the optional hot sauce or honey).
It is Louisiana-Creole-Southern. Popeyes was founded in New Orleans in 1972 by Al Copeland and uses a Louisiana-style seasoning. The 2019 chicken sandwich popularized a new fried chicken sandwich format. The chain is now the most globally influential mass-market Southern fried chicken company.
The first fry cooks the chicken through at a lower temperature; the second fry at a higher temperature crisps the skin and renders out remaining fat, producing a notably crunchier and less greasy result than single-fried chicken. The technique also lets the sauce adhere without softening the crust.
Aaron Josinsky and Laura Wade's sister restaurant to Misery Loves Co. opened in August 2022 in the historic Block Building at the top of the Winooski rotary.
Signature: Fried chicken, Shucked oysters, Hot-honey biscuit
Order: The fried chicken half-bird plus a half-dozen Vermont oysters and a hot-honey biscuit.
Tip: Bar takes walk-ins; book the dining room on Resy. Dinner 16:00-21:00 daily; weekend brunch 10:00-15:00.
Sister room to Misery Loves Co.; opened August 2022 at the top of the Winooski rotary in the historic Block Building. Fried chicken and East Coast oysters.
Signature: Fried chicken, Vermont oysters, Hot-honey biscuit
Order: Half-bird fried chicken, half-dozen Vermont oysters and a biscuit.
Tip: Bar walk-in; book the dining room on Resy. Dinner only, and the half-bird fried chicken sells through by 21:00 on weekends.
Leon's Fine Poultry and Oysters in Charleston runs fried chicken and oyster plates from a converted body shop on King Street since 2014. Priced at $$.
Signature: Fried chicken sandwich, Char-grilled oysters
Order: The fried chicken sandwich and a half-dozen char-grilled oysters.
Tip: Walk-in counter seating. Lines at lunch are real; weeknight dinner is easier.
Leon's Fine Poultry and Oysters in Charleston runs buttermilk-brined fried chicken and char-grilled oysters from a converted body shop on King Street.
Signature: Fried chicken sandwich, Char-grilled oysters
Order: The fried chicken sandwich and a half-dozen char-grilled oysters.
Tip: Walk-in counter seating. Weekday lunch easier than weekend dinner.
Bossy Beulah's flagship on Freedom Drive is the Charlotte chicken-sandwich counter that has built four city locations since opening in 2019, with simple.
Signature: Chicken sandwich, Tenders, Wings
Order: The classic Bossy chicken sandwich and a side of fries.
Tip: The Freedom Drive flagship is the original. The Ballantyne and Brandywine spinoffs serve the same menu.
LuLu's Maryland Style Chicken on Tuckaseegee Road brings Mid-Atlantic fried chicken and crab cakes to a quick-service counter in west Charlotte.
Signature: Maryland-style chicken, Crab cakes
Order: A Maryland-style chicken plate and a side of crab cake.
Tip: Counter-order and quick takeout. The Tuckaseegee flagship has the longest hours.
City Bird on Vine Street in OTR is Cincinnati's Thunderdome fast-casual chicken flagship, with brined tenders, sandwiches and house hot sauce options.
Signature: Chicken tenders, Crispy chicken sandwich
Cincinnati import that nails the Mass Avenue fried-chicken brief. Brined and dredged in-house, served with spoonbread and a half-dozen Southern sides.
Signature: Fried chicken, Spoonbread, Kale salad
Order: Half a chicken, the spoonbread, the kale salad. Sit at the picnic tables outside in summer.
Tip: No reservations. Get on the standby list at 5:30 for a 6:30 weekend table, or go for an early lunch.
The Eagle Mass Ave in Indianapolis fries half-chickens brined in-house and runs Southern sides on Mass Avenue's busiest corner. The line moves fast.
Signature: Fried chicken, Spoonbread
Order: Half a chicken with spoonbread and the kale salad.
Tip: No reservations. Get on the standby list at 5:30 for a 6:30 weekend table.
Stroud's Oak Ridge Manor is the Kansas City pan-fried chicken anchor, set inside a restored 1840s log-cabin homestead that became the second Stroud's in 1983.
Signature: Pan-fried chicken, Cinnamon rolls, Mashed potatoes and gravy
Order: Pan-fried chicken with mashed potatoes, pan gravy and the legendary cinnamon rolls.
Tip: Mon to Sat dinner only, Sun lunch. Walk-in or call ahead; the line wraps the porch on Friday nights.
Stroud's Oak Ridge Manor in Kansas City sits inside a restored 1840s log-cabin homestead, the second Stroud's location since 1983; the original 85th.
Signature: Pan-fried chicken, Cinnamon rolls, Country gravy
Order: Pan-fried chicken with mashed potatoes, country gravy and the cinnamon rolls.
Tip: Mon to Sat dinner, Sun lunch. The line wraps the porch on Friday nights; call ahead.
The Crack Shack at Park MGM in Las Vegas is Richard Blais and Top Chef alums' Strip Jidori chicken shop, a counter-service room for sandwiches.
Signature: Jidori fried chicken sandwich, Chicken oysters, Schmaltz fries
Order: The Senor Croque: fried Jidori chicken, bacon, fried egg and miso-maple butter on brioche.
Tip: Breakfast menu runs 09:00 to 12:00 with chilaquiles and biscuits; the line is shortest at opening.
The Crack Shack in San Diego is Richard Blais and Michael Rosen's Little Italy fried-chicken yard since 2015, attached to Juniper and Ivy. Priced at $$.
Signature: Firebird chicken sandwich, Coop deville (10-piece), Schmaltz fries
Order: The Firebird spicy chicken sandwich; the schmaltz fries with sherry-vinegar mayo.
Tip: All outdoors; bring a sweater for marine-layer mornings. The Coop Deville feeds a table of four.
Hodak's has won Riverfront Times reader polls for best fried chicken since the 1990s. The family-run Gravois corner room is a no-frills temple to the bird.
Order: The fried chicken dinner with sides.
Tip: The fried chicken is the only thing most regulars order; pair it with the slaw and a cold draft. Expect a wait on Friday nights.
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