"Hallelujah and Amen", words usually reserved for religious discussion, are well deserved in conversation about this new Fried Chicken joint from the folks at the Sunday Dinner Club. I was there for their grand opening on Saturday night, and came away so impressed I almost went back the next day...
Saturday was my birthday, and my wife had suggested all sorts of steak houses, going to a play, etc., etc....and I said - "you know, I just want to take a rare Saturday night off work and go out for some fried chicken and drinks"....just so happens HBFC was having their grand opening, and that was just perfect - I am honored to share a birthday with this place.
Upon arriving, my phone died - so no photos in this post (gives me an excuse to return). While this hindered me from taking photos, checking in, and tagging fb photos...it allowed me to exist only in real life - totally disconnected from my restaurant life, unable to take calls, or be bothered. It made the experience even better! I highly recommend turning off your phone once in awhile, it feels good!
At 730pm, there was a line out the door (which really only means 10 people waiting a la Hot Dougs), about 25 people total in line. We were a little surprised to see the line - we parked on Roscoe next to their patio, and there were about 40 open seats on the patio. While waiting in line, it was also clear there were about 25 seats open in the restaurant. This was really my only very minor quibble, and it seemed to annoy others in line - why a line with so many open seats? They seemed to be spacing orders out a little bit to manage the flow of things, and it's counter service - so if 20 people show up in a short window, that line will form quickly.
On to the food: Seeing the menu online, it looked a little shallow - the only protein is fried chicken. I'm OK with that for me - as that's why I was visiting - but I did wonder if everyone else would be OK with this. Upon seeing the full menu (listing daily specials and such) - it has some depth to it, and vegans/friends/heathy non-fried chicken eaters
will do just fine here. We ordered a 4 piece chicken dinner, kale & cabbage slaw, chinese broccoli w/ red pepper sauce, 3 sisters farm roasted corn soup, pimento mac n cheese, and a couple "Smoked Derby" cocktails. I went to the bar to chat up the guy making cocktails, and was impressed with the bar service.
The "Smoked Derby" is described as "Very Old Barton Bourbon, Grapefruit, Smoked Paprika Syrup". The cocktail is premixed in liter bottles (bourbon, syrup, grapefruit juice) and poured with some seltzer to fizz it up, which I thought was clever and made bar service quite fast. The bar staff was friendly, and very hip (with handlebar mustache and all)...and the "Smoked Derby" was an awesome drink - perfect balance of sweet/smokey/bitter/boozeyness that made for a great pre-meal drink.
By the time dinner had arrived, I moved on to a drink that I think pairs well with the chicken - The "CORIANDER SANGRITA". This drink is super clever and the flavors go really well with their menu. It's Tomato juice, Coop Rum Barrel Hot Sauce, Corazon Blanco Tequila and lime poured over rocks - topped with Tecate Beer. When they pour the drink, the "body" of the drink fills half the glass - so your initial pour of beer is only about 4 oz. This makes the first sip super spicy, tomatoey, and heavy on tequila. It's a nice punch...as you drink, you continue to add tecate (they give you the can). By the time you're at the end of the drink, it's mostly beer with a mild tomato/hot sauce taste. I liked the progression of that as I ate my fried chicken.
The main show (this is getting lengthy, I just loved it THAT much): The Fried Chicken! Perfectly Fried, crispy - great breading, high quality chicken. These folks have really figured it out! Nothing pleases me more than to announce Honey Butter Fried Chicken as the best in Chicago...I've been disappointed with the fried chicken in this city for so long, and it's never made any sense to me: a midwestern city full of carnivorous fried food lovers - with no "go-to" spot (harolds fans, don't start with me..it's fine, but not worth writing about on a national level). I was super excited when Parson't opened, until I actually ate there...Honey Butter lived up to, and exceeded, the hype surrounding the fried chicken - UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE AMAZEBALLS! Adding their honey butter to the top of it is a revelation, and takes it to a level of indescribable deliciousness - go now, you need to experience this fried chicken!
The sides were all great as well - the kale and cabbage slaw had dried pomegranates, giving it a nice textural balance of soft greens and crunchy sweet pomes..the chinese broccoli dressed with a red pepper sauce was awesome, and the roasted corn soup from 3 sisters farms was good enough to write a paragraph about (I won't, just try it - it's delicious). Pimento Mac n cheese was delicious too, but I eat mac n cheese too often so it wasn't as exciting for me..
What impressed me the most was how put-together everything was for opening night. This was one of the best openings I've ever been to, from folks that have (from what I can tell) never owned a restaurant before. They've been doing the Sunday Dinner club thing for awhile, and apparently it's paid off. They have done their research, test-cooked everything to a point of mastery, and really thought out the entire restaurant/service process to perfection...This is one of my new favorites in town, and I can't wait to get back.
Honey Butter Fried Chicken
3361 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, IL
pics of the space from eater: