Thep T./ Yelp / Alex J./ Yelp
Great fried chicken is worth traveling for, but with a food so timeless and trendy, there are hundreds of spots doing incredible stuff across the country.
Why get caught waiting in line for some of the most famous ones? You already know that Howlin’ Ray’s is good. You already know Gus’s is famous. There are so many other local restaurants out there in this world of ours. Here are some of the best fried chicken shops in the country, and which ones to avoid.
Multiple Locations
Gus’ chicken is famous for a reason, but the truth is, you don’t really need to be in Memphis to eat it. With 30 locations across 14 states, it’s tasty, but not a Memphis must.
Memphis
These digs date back to 1946, and in a town like Memphis, it’s not easy to rise to the top of the soul food chain. Yet The Four Way has continued to do just that, with chicken, fish, and turkey that people talk about for miles.
Need a celebrity endorsement? Fine. How about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
Los Angeles
Howlin’ Rays makes good chicken, but there are not many arguments for having to put up with the experience. The lines are famously long, and in a city like Los Angeles where wonderful chicken lives in just about every neighborhood, fried in Mexican, Asian, Southern, and so many other flavor profiles, there’s no excuse to settle here.
Los Angeles
If you want the classic stuff, this is where you need to go. What Dinah’s Chicken has been doing on an hourly basis since 1967 is what nearly every fried chicken strives to create: Perfect chicken in perfect ambience. The thighs here are as moist as the flats, the staff is friendly, and you’ll spend your night dreaming of pineapple slaw and heavenly chicken.
Chicago
Honey Butter has a location in San Francisco as well as Chicago, and it’s even got one in the United Center. That’s not an optimum place to eat fried chicken. No need to spend $40 on an eight-piece chicken meal here.
Chicago
We’re going back to the '50s with Harold’s. Founder Harold Pierce had a way with chicken, and became known in Chicago for it. Though there are over 40 locations now, this is a local chain that feels like a crucial part of Chicago culture.
Nashville
Aren’t you sick of hearing about hot chicken? Though Hattie B’s makes some of the most beloved hot chicken in the city that made the dish famous, there are countless places where you can get chicken with a nearly identical flavor profile. Treat it more like a tourist destination than lunch.
Nashville
Bolton’s has been a widely loved staple of the Nashville community since the '90s, about 15 years before Hattie B’s hit the scene. Though the amount of hot chicken shops desperately clinging to the hot chicken trend has become exhausting, Bolton’s remains an icon. And the chicken’s great at every level of heat, too.
Charleston
Of course the place is good, but you can go to the four locations outside of Charleston to get Rodney Scott’s. Plus, it’s Carolina-style barbecue, which in my incredibly biased opinion, will never hold a candle to Texas-style.
Charleston
It’s easy to call Bertha’s one of the best soul food restaurants in South Carolina, but it’s probably more like one of the best soul food restaurants on planet Earth. It’s the type of place that makes you understand why it’s called soulfood. From the yams, to the necks and gizzards everything in the cafeteria-style setup is out of this world; including and especially the tender, golden fried chicken.
New Orleans
I am not here to dunk on Willie Mae’s, because it’s a wonderful restaurant, and deservedly famous. But New Orleans is one of the best food towns in the country, and while you can find great Creole and Cajun fried chicken all over the place, there’s a different spot you should go if you’re looking for something historic. Willie Mae's is also temporarily closed.
New Orleans
You’re trading one old, famous restaurant for another here, but at least at Dooky Chase's, you get to walk the same hallowed grounds that the queen of Creole cuisine, Leah Chase did. Her impact on the culinary world is legendary (you won’t find many chefs who won’t cite her as some sort of inspiration or hero), and at Chase’s, you get to eat the food that made it that way.
New York
Blue Ribbon is too cutesy for you, isn’t it? You’re not the type who wants a chicken tender in a hot dog bun, dressed with unhinged toppings like mac and cheese. You want pure, Southern soul, not a $13 sandwich that doesn’t come with a side.
Brooklyn
If you like success stories, you’ll love that what started in the back of a Brooklyn dive bar is now one of the best fried-chicken options in New York. Pies ‘n’ Thighs is an excellent place to get, well, fried chicken and pie. And this is a fried chicken list, but look, get some of the famous pulled pork while you’re at it.
Miami
You could be in Vegas to eat Yardbird, or you could be in D.C. to eat at Yardbird. You could even be in Singapore if you were gonna eat at Yardbird, so really, why spend one of your Miami meals here if you could have it anywhere?
Miami
Derrick Turton started his mac-and-cheese truck in 2015, but macaroni is only half the reason House of Mac is as widely loved as it is. People are here for the chicken and red velvet waffles, too, so skip Yardbird and head to the mac house.
Philadelphia
Federal Donuts is a Philly institution, but you know who else is trying to go at the exact same time as you? Everybody. That’s why there are 11 locations. Turn your eyes elsewhere, away from a steadily growing franchise and more towards a tiny little mom-and-pop shop.
Philadelphia
Since it opened in 2017, Love & Honey has mastered the art of frying a chicken in Philadelphia. The place has also mastered the art of having good ideas, because each piece of chicken you get here has a little bit of a honey drizzle. Love and honey, indeed.
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