When times are good, there’s fried chicken. When you’re down on your luck, there’s fried chicken. As food costs soar (with no end in sight), there’s still fried chicken.
The beauty of a crisp, juicy drumstick or tender thigh needs no explanation, but part of fried chicken’s universal magic is its simple and cost-effective ingredients. A breaded bird plunked into piping hot oil is accessible to most, if not all. You can put some lipstick on it, sure, and some of the spots on this list do, but, you usually don’t need to stretch your wallet to order a half bird fried to golden glory.
There’s also beauty in the mess. Fried chicken humbles us all. Whether you’re donning a plaid button-up and Patagonia vest among your rich in-laws at Rye or sitting at Gus’s vinyl tablecloths with a forty to wash it all down, it’s of no matter. One must dig in with bare hands and feast down to the bone.
Kansas City has no shortage of solid fried chicken. The delicious strips of Korean fried chicken at CM in Overland Park shouldn’t be missed. I loved the box of crispy wings from District Biskuits; same with the fried and battered cuts from Corner Cafe. Upon a recent visit, Stroud’s original location up North still held up well (I can’t vouch for the other locations, helmed by different ownership). And although I grew up on buckets of Church’s, the KC-based chain Go Chicken Go still has my respect.
For this list, restaurants needed to coat their chicken in some sort of breading or batter and offer both dark and white meat. Enjoy, preferably with both hands. And don’t forget the napkins.
KC Fry Bro’s
(1419 E. 55th St., KCMO, kcfrybros.com)
KC Fry Bro’s owner Hamza Khan is originally from Pakistan. He came to the U.S. when he was a teenager and worked at various fast food joints. But it wasn’t until he worked at J’s Chicken and Fish off Prospect Avenue that he began to enjoy it—mostly because it wasn’t a corporate job. What makes his fried chicken some of the best in town? According to Khan, it’s that it’s halal.
Among the many halal practices, when it comes to butchering animals, every drop of blood is drained, and this makes a huge difference in taste, Khan says. Also a big differentiating factor in taste is the hefty dose of lemon pepper seasoning he puts on every order.
“People call it ‘crack seasoning,’ “Khan says. “Our customers can’t get enough.”
Most people liken his dishes to Louisiana-style fried chicken, probably due to the heavy, bold seasoning, Khan says. When asked if his Pakistani roots have influenced his cooking, Khan says that among the many spices, he adds turmeric, but it’s so subtle you barely notice it, and this is true.
When you visit, you’ll find a massive menu (that includes seafood) and a small dining area with a mural of a chicken smoking a doobie (painted by local muralist Whitney Kerr). When you order at the window, Khan will tell you that your order will, at best, take 10 to 15 minutes because everything is cooked to order. And for a little sweetness, be sure to order a side of fried okra or fried green beans.
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken
(multiple locations, gusfriedchicken.com)
For most lists of this kind, I almost strictly focus on locally owned establishments. But if there is any exception to my dedication to our city’s small businesses, it’s Gus’s.
When I ask local franchisee Stephen Zanone about Gus’s recipe, he doesn’t even try to indulge me. “It’s a secret,” he says. When I push a little more and inquire about the subtle heat that’s delivered slowly, almost on the back end, while chewing through each juicy reddish-gold piece—certainly a signature of the chain—all he gives me is, “We use a pepper blend.”
I suppose part of Gus’s success is its (clearly very serious) protocols. In each restaurant, there’s a room dedicated to hand-carving and preparing the chickens—that way, the recipe can remain out of sight of anyone who hasn’t signed an NDA. Instead of breading the chicken, Gus’s coats it in a batter, which makes for a thin, crisp outer layer that doesn’t just crunch when you bite into it but shatters. Each bite releases a dam of juices onto your tongue. It’s no surprise that Gus’s won the National Fried Chicken Competition in New Orleans this year.
During Covid, you could get a 40-ounce beer with your order, but liquor laws have changed, and Zanone says they’re not as easy to source. But maybe there’s hope.
“We love a good chicken and a forty,” Zanone says. “We should really bring that back.”
PeachTree Cafeteria
(6800 Eastwood Trafficway, KCMO & 2128 E. 12th St., KCMO, peachtreecafeteria.com)
“They put their foot in this,” my husband said while eating my leftover meal from PeachTree Cafeteria. For those unaware of the phrase, it’s high praise. Unable to finish my PeachTree meal, the fried chicken, fried mac and cheese, collard greens,and mashed potatoes and gravy came home with me. Somehow, even after 45 minutes of sitting at room temperature, every bit of PeachTree’s three-piece, two-side platter still hit the spot.
The soul food joint, owned by Vera Willis from Tallulah, Louisiana, serves its food cafeteria-style. Point to a dish and an employee will start piling your order on a tray. At PeachTree, they make their perfectly salty, Cajun-spiced fried chicken every day. Other beauties, like neck bones and gumbo, make occasional appearances throughout the week.
PeachTree is one of those incredible spots where the fried chicken—the star of the operation—is matched in excellence by its side dishes. The long wilty strands of house-made collard greens were simple with wonderful texture, the gravy was peppery, and the sweet potato cornbread was warm with spices.
Niecie’s Restaurant
(6441 Troost Ave., KCMO, nieciesrestaurant.com)
There’s a lot more to Niecie’s, a longstanding soul food spot off Troost, than fried chicken, like oxtails and pig ear sandwiches. Usually, I’d encourage you to explore past your comfort zone. But ordering the three-piece plate from Niecie’s is my personal ritual (with the exception of ordering the biscuits and gravy in the morning).
This year marks the restaurant’s 40-year anniversary, so the fried chicken recipe is tried and true. It’s southern fried—dredged in flour before being tossed and rolled in a cast iron skillet. The outer coating is crisped to a burnished gold and, like everything at Niecie’s, seasoned to perfection. The outer layer is perfectly salty, making the juicy meat inside that much more savory.
Rye
(10551 Mission Road, Leawood & 4646 Mill Creek Parkway, KCMO, ryekc.com)
If you’re going to splurge on fried chicken, it should be at Rye. Of all the fried chicken I’ve eaten recently, Rye’s was adorned with the most flaky, crispy coating.
Husband-and-wife Colby and Megan Garrelts turned a leaf when they opened Rye with a comforting Midwestern menu after having helmed the former upscale gastronomic Blue Stem in Westport for 17 years. Chef Colby is a 2013 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Midwest award winner and 2005 Food & Wine Top 10 Best New Chef. So, why the switch?
“Fine dining is hard in the sense that it’s a young man’s game,” he says. “You have to be locked in all the time, chasing trends. When we started Rye, our kids were younger, and we really just wanted to build an elevated family restaurant.”
Colby doesn’t keep his fried chicken recipe close to his chest. “There’s nothing weird or crazy, which goes back to my training,” he says. “Just let the product shine.”
There’s salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika—all the usual seasonings. The quality starts with the chickens, which are all-natural from Redbird Farms. They’re brined overnight and left to dry, something Colby says is crucial for the breading to adhere better. Finally, they’re drenched in a “slurry,” or flour and water combination. As for that ultra-flaky crust that makes for a visceral crunch, that’s made with the help of baking soda. The accompanying house-brined pickles are an obvious but uncommon side that cuts the hearty chicken with a sour tang.
