Why Did the Foodie Cross the Road?

I woke up needing it like a student needs summer vacation. 

It had to be special. Normalcy would not cut it. The binds of mundane munching had to be broken.

I needed finger-greasing, nostril-teasing, taste-bud-titillating fried chicken.

Lucky for me, Chicken Shack at 413 N. Acadian Thruway in mid-city is just a stomach grumble away. The shack has been serving its acclaimed fried chicken along with fried pork-chops, shrimp and fish for 75 years -- long enough to perpetuate its rendition of the southern classic to a coop of its own.

The scent of fried bird bubbling in the grease pools encompasses you like a friendly hug upon entrance to the literal shack.

Ketchup is not a word that comes to mind when gnawing on a wing from Chicken Shack. The chicken is superbly seasoned and easily edible without its crusted clothing.

The deep-fried skin will make you weep. The golden brown, slightly chewy and all-the-right-kinds-of-crunchy crust is so delicious it could be served sans chicken.

Chicken Shack’s signature dish might lure in customers, but the meal is incomplete without the soulful side items. Candied yams, potato salad, peach cobbler, mustard greens, coleslaw and red beans are only a few of the chicken’s faithful sidekicks. 

With one bite of cinnamon-crammed yams or sweet peach cobbler my mouth reminisces of Thanksgiving dinners at my granny’s table, and the relish-rich potato salad is fit for a bourgeoisie picnic. 

Every morsel of meat has been sucked off the chicken bone and your dining companion is severely annoyed by you scraping remnants of yams off the bottom of your styrofoam tray, but the experience is not concluded without a handmade personal pie.

The hockey puck sized pies come in lemon and sweet potato, but the bread-winner is the lemon pie with its made-from-scratch shell and warm gooey center. 

Fried chicken is a staple in the South’s cuisine, and Chicken Shack celebrates it like Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Ditch the colonel and strut over to the Chicken Shack. You will be planning your next visit before you can wipe the crumbs from the corner of your mouth.

Fried chicken breast and leg, yams, potato salad and lemon pie