For the past month or so I’ve been eating way more than my fair share of chicken. I’ve been looking for the best chicken – the most fab fowl – from Layton to Lehi. Frankly, I am chicken out. What began as a hunt for the best Nashville-style hot chicken widened to a search for top-notch chicken in general. Here is a list of my most delicious dozen.
Let’s start up in Clearfield at Dirty Bird, which is self-described as “Nashville inspired, hip, connective and pushing the culinary boundaries through southern hospitality & fried chicken.” Judging from the warm greeting – “Welcome to Dirty Bird!” from the friendly team of guys behind the counter, I’d say they nailed the southern hospitality thing. As I walked up to the counter to order, the fellas were grooving to The Offspring’s Come Out and Play aka “Keep ‘Em Separated.”
Dirty Bird is a Utah-based company with four locations: Clearfield, Riverton, Provo and Ogden. The menu is pretty straightforward: chicken sandwiches, tenders, sides and desserts, including Dirty Custard Shakes. I chose to try their Plain Jane fried chicken sandwich, which comes with pickles and a choice of favorite sauce, all of which are made in-house daily. There are seven sauces, including Hot Honey Mustard, Dirty BBQ, Ranch, Fry Sauce and others. If you choose a “Hot” sandwich you’ll get breaded, chicken fried and dipped in hot chili oil, seasoned with Dirty Bird Hot Seasoning, and topped with jalapeños. I chose 8 on the spice level – 10 is the hottest – and my chicken had plenty of heat, but also really good flavor from the Dirty Bird Seasoning and I liked the soft bun that soaked up some of the sauce. A side of mac & cheese sprinkled with smoked paprika was just fine. You can take your Dirty Bird meal “to the next level” by adding their homemade Hot Honey.
A little further south, in Layton, C&B Maddox Famous Chicken has been operating on Main Street since 1998, which is when Ben and Chad Maddox opened their family-friendly chicken shack. They serve sandwiches and burgers along with their popular turkey steaks, but are primarily known for fried chicken. It’s a little unusual insofar as the chicken is skinless and cornmeal-crusted rather than battered like most fried chicken. The result is very tender, moist, and lower fat than is the norm for most fried chicken. I ordered three pieces of chicken – which was excellent – but was especially blown away by the silky smooth mashed potatoes and scrumptious gravy. C&B Maddox does a booming takeout business with a drive-thru ordering and pickup option.
It might come as a surprise, but some of the best fried chicken I’ve encountered in Utah comes from a grocery store: Harmons. They offer chicken by the piece, served hot or cold. To look at the chicken, you’d swear they put cornflakes in their batter, it’s so flaky. Harmons’ buttermilk-brined fried chicken is moist and juicy, with just the right amount of salt, pepper and cayenne, wrapped in a wonderfully crunchy crust. The secret to that crunchy crust is that the cooks add some buttermilk directly to the flour before tossing in the chicken parts, which helps the batter adhere. In addition, the chicken is fried, rested, then fried a second time to make it super crispy. It’s championship chicken.
In North Salt Lake, Bob McCarthy’s Garage on Beck dishes up some great chicken as well as live music, lusty libations and a great overall vibe. Chicken at The Garage comes in many forms, including their Refinery Wings, chicken & waffle, Southern twice-fried chicken, grilled chicken sandwich, and “Roadkill” chicken sandwich. But my favorite is the Nashville hot chicken sandwich, a crispy fried boneless breast brushed with spice-infused butter, and topped with coleslaw, house-made dill pickles, served on a soft and airy kaiser roll.
Head a bit further south and you’ll find the original downtown location of Chef/Owner Viet Pham’s Pretty Bird, the first (as far as I can tell) Nashville-style hot chicken outlet to open in Utah. It took Pham and his culinary team five years to nail the Pretty Bird batter and seasoning recipe, and it was worth the wait. Pretty Bird chicken is complex and layered, with sweet and spicy flavors mingling simultaneously, as well as some sourness from pickles and red cabbage slaw. There are even hints of lemon in the creamy sauce. Pham’s fried chicken isn’t exactly Nashville hot chicken; it’s better.
Yet a little further south, on State Street, is Sunny Nisar’s friendly neighborhood eatery – Curry Fried Chicken. Sunny’s family owns Curry in a Hurry, so he grew up around chicken, especially of the curried variety. The curry flavors in the halal curry fried chicken here are subtle, not overwhelming – the moist, flavorful chicken is still the star of the show. I especially like the combo plates with chicken, basmati rice, vegetable curry, house salad, and warm pita bread. Curry Fried Chicken is so unique and appealing that Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives dropped by to check out those bold curry fried chicken flavors.
The Crack Shack was born in California but now has numerous locations, including SLC, Riverton and Lehi. One thing that separates The Crack Shack from most quick-service chicken joints is that the SLC location features a full bar. Another thing that’s different about The Crack Shack from most franchise operations is that their chickens are free-range and antibiotic-free.
I like that The Crack Shack offers both chicken sandwiches and also bone-in fried chicken, sold as half- or whole-birds. The SLC location offers eight sandwich options, including one with buffalo-ranch sauce, another with bacon, avocado, sunny side eggs, and cheddar, and the Señor Croque with bacon, fried egg, cheddar, and miso-apple butter. I decided to try The Basic, which is a battered and fried boneless breast with shredded iceberg, pickles, and Crack Shack burger sauce on a soft brioche bun. It’s a solid chicken sandwich, but the much-vaunted Crack seasoning and sauce tasted pretty much like Lowry’s seasoning to me. Help yourself to the vast selection of bottled hot sauces at The Crack Shack to liven up your chicken a bit.
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when restaurants were closed for dining in, we opted for takeout from HSL restaurant a few times and the fried chicken, in particular, got us through many a shut-in evening. Chef Briar Handly brines his chicken in a sugar-salt-water-aromatics brine before dredging the chicken pieces in cornstarch and flour with cayenne, salt, onion and garlic powders, and dried thyme. Next up the chicken is dipped into a buttermilk and Frank’s Red Hot bath with garlic. Then the chicken is dredged in flour (“really pack it on,” advises Handly) and, here’s part of the secret to HSL’s sensational chicken: it’s fried in beef tallow fat. This is KILLER chicken, my fowl-loving friend.
I am not above visiting chain restaurants for my chicken fixes. That’s especially true of Popeyes. I remember being so excited when Popeyes finally came to Utah a few years ago, only to be heartbroken that the first location was situated behind the secured gates of Hill AFB. Since first discovering Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans many years ago, I’ve been a big fan of their fried chicken, especially the spicy version. I also like side dishes such as Cajun fries, red beans & rice, and dirty rice. Be on the lookout for when Popeyes, for a limited time, offers their complex tasting Ghost Pepper Wings, which are marinated for at least 12 hours in a ghost pepper spice blend, hand-battered, breaded, fried, and served with buttermilk ranch dressing.
I’m also a fan of El Pollo Loco, even though their chicken is grilled, not fried, in opposition to all the others mentioned here. El Pollo Loco began in Sinaloa, Mexico in 1975 when Pancho Ochoa sold everything he had to open his first restaurant using a cherished family recipe for his citrus-marinated and grilled chicken. In 1980 the first American El Pollo Loco opened in L.A. and today there are some 500 restaurants in 6 states, including Utah.
I really like the charred, citrus-garlic-spice flavors of this Mexican-style fire-grilled chicken, but I also appreciate the wide choice of side dishes and sauces available at El Pollo Loco, which range from Spanish rice, pinto beans, and corn, to homemade tortilla soup, corn and flour tortillas, churros, broccoli, mac & cheese, salad, and more.
The first Utah location of Houston TX Hot Chicken opened recently in Lehi, and while it may be a franchise business, it is family-run through and through. I recently met owner Chad Curtis, who was born and raised in Lehi, along with his son and wife, all of whom are very hands-on at the new restaurant. Business is booming in Lehi. “We originally thought we could open with a staff of 30 employees,” said Curtis, “but we soon realized we needed more like 45!”
According to Curtis, the chicken served at Houston TX Hot Chicken is free of antibiotics and hormones, halal, cage-free, organic, and fresh, never frozen. And it certainly tastes like it. Curtis told me that they believe in having fewer menu items, but doing what they do very well, so the menu offers hot chicken sandwiches, tenders, salads, waffles, sides, sauces and beverages, including unique ones like the Blueberry-Lavender house lemonade I enjoyed. I opted to try the Original Hot Chicken sandwich, which was superb, served on a soft brioche bun with fries, pickles, coleslaw and house sauce. Spice levels for the hot chicken range from “No Spice” to “Houston We Have A Problem!” I opted for “Spicy” for my sandwich, which is listed as 150K SHU (Scoville Heat Units) and “Liftoff” (600K SHU) for a chicken tender with waffle. I actually liked the Liftoff heat level the best – it incorporates ghost pepper powder into the mix. And I might, one day, muster the courage for the 2M SHU (waiver required) Houston We Have A Problem heat seeking sauce. Stay tuned.
Finally, and last but certainly not least, is the fried chicken at Tupelo Park City. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever had better fried chicken. Chef Matt Harris allows his all-natural chicken to bathe in a dill pickle brine for 24 hours before frying it. The extraordinary result is chicken pieces that are tender, juicy and richly flavored inside while remaining crisp and crunchy outside. The only thing better than a plate of Tupelo’s fried chicken is that stupendous chicken with Harris’ buttermilk biscuits and honey butter alongside.
After all of those chicken meals, my next culinary venture might be a survey of salads. Do you have a favorite chicken joint? Shoot us an email and let us hear about it.
Photos by Ted Scheffler and Courtesy
Culinary quote of the week: “The best comfort food will always be greens, cornbread, and fried chicken.” – Maya Angelou
