After making fried chicken from scratch a few times in my impressionable years, I realized outsourcing the job made a lot more sense. All the work that goes into frying a chicken can turn a happy kitchen into a hellhole. The Colonnade, Watershed and Busy Bee Cafe all fry up a terrific yard bird — even Publix will do in a pinch — and all I have to do is show up and give them money.
This story originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of Living Intown magazine.
Discovering Southbound's spicy fried chicken sandwich was a big win in this department.
It's hard not to love Southbound, a pioneer in Chamblee fine dining with its gorgeously neo-rustic space and glowing copper-lined kettles hung above the bar, as well as their farm-to-table aesthetic and super-duper cocktails. Their spicy fried chicken sandwich is like a little preview of heaven.
The Southbound kitchen, helmed by Chef Ryan Smith (no relation to the Ryan Smith who founded Muss & Turner's and Local Three), builds the sandwich on a sturdy brioche bun from Chamblee's Best Bread. Shiny, mellow brown and perfectly rounded, it offers a chewy hint of sweetness, like a disarming opening act before the crazy flavor show starts.
The angelic bun gets slathered with zingy house-made Szechuan mayonnaise: a lime, soy sauce and buttermilk base with Szechuan peppercorns, cilantro and habanero. Atop this pucker-inducing layer sits the main attraction: a tender, boneless chicken thigh that's been marinated in a seasoning like the mayo and dredged in rice flour, corn flour and corn starch. Once they fry the chicken, the kitchen staff dusts it with a secret Szechuan peppercorn spice blend.
A hefty slice of fried green tomato goes on top of the chicken, along with a devilishly sweet-hot, house-made habanero-pineapple jam and a healthy blob of tangy, soft goat cheese.
The overall effect is at once wild and comforting, a microcosm of flavor and texture contrasts. It's one of those meals that demands attention, even if you're trying to socialize.
I like to pair the sandwich with a side salad — usually a pile of cool, delicate Little Gem lettuce with Southbound's herby, rich buttermilk dressing — and a glass of iced tea. Both soothe an excited palate and clear the head after an intense flavor trip.
Rather than fry your own chicken, consider going easy on yourself and grabbing a delicious sandwich from the kitchen that makes it look easy.
Southbound. 5393 Peachtree Road. 678-580-5579. www.baconsnobs.com
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