The Redhead's fried chicken
Photo: Greg Lord
My mother and others who live below the Mason Dixon line might not be happy with this, but the best fried chicken I ever ate was at the Redhead in New York City. (Props to my mom, though, for mixing Old Bay into her flour coating.) If you had asked me for my favorite two years ago, I would have said I found it being produced out of a wok-turned-deep-fryer in the streets of Bangkok, but I hadn't tasted Redhead chef Meg Grace's chicken then. Grace, who comes to Manhattan by way of New Orleans, brines the pieces of meat in a mixture of water, salt, brown sugar, garlic, thyme sprigs, bay leaves and black peppercorns, then submerges them in buttermilk, tosses them in spiced flour, and deep fries them until super-crispy. Served alongside cornbread and a salad of spinach, strawberries, and almonds, this might just be my pick for last meal on earth.
Bon Appetit readers feel just as passionately about the subject. We posted the question, "What's the best fried chicken you ever ate?" on Facebook and Twitter. Out of the 100 responses we received, there were five classic spots that stuck out, receiving numerous votes (often in all caps, followed by exclamation points). Here they are, along with a sprinkling of comments:**
6476 Washington Street, Yountville, CA, (707) 944-2487, adhocrestaurant.com **
What readers say: @marcygordon "Buttermilk fried chicken at Ad Hoc in Yountville, CA"; Bill Billenstein "AD HOC!"
505 Highway 70 W Mason, TN, (901) 294-2028
What readers say: @SmokeMasterBBQ "Gus's Fried Chicken, Memphis, TN. The best fried chicken on the face of the Earth. There is Gus's and then everyone else." #### Willie Mae's Scotch House
2401 Saint Ann Street, New Orleans, LA, (504) 822-9503
What readers say: David Wharff Wille "Mae's Scotch House in New Orleans! Served by Willie Mae herself!"
406 W Ponce De Leon Ave, Decatur, GA, (404) 378-4900
What readers say: Karen Hott "My boyfriend has mastered Scott Peacock's Fried Chicken! Scott Peacock formerly of Watershed in Decatur GA"; Chelsea O'Halloran "watershed, decatur GA"
45 Phila Street, Saratoga Springs, NY, (518) 584-4790, hattiesrestaurant.com **
What readers say: Theresa Nelson Carey "Hattie's, in Saratoga Springs, beat Bobby Flay in a fried chicken throw down!!"
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