Dat Chicken

One of the many beautiful things about this city is eating, our food in NOLA is always a set of religious experiences. And while you can find a lot of good food in the Quarter, you need to find a neighborhood restaurant stuck between a couple houses in an unassuming building if you want to see the culinary life of this glorious city. Let's not forgot that eating is my favorite. I think Mike Piazza in his book, Why New Orleans Matters explains our deep love of food quite well: "It is a point of honor to make food that tastes good - I don't think a New Orleanian would even understand the concept of turning out blah food so you could just eat and run." (By the way, this is an awesome book if you want to get a little perspective on Katrina, and the deep love the people have for this place, go ahead, read it.) So a few weeks ago I posted about the famous Mother's Restaurant here in New Orleans. And now I'm going to post about another restaurant, that I'd try to take you to if y'all come visit. It's in Mid-City, and it has some of the best noms I've had recently.

Now many people think that they have found the Holy Grail of Fried Chicken, but my friend, unless you're talking about Willie Mae's Scotch House, you are mistaken. The breading, or maybe more correctly the crust on the chicken is enough to make you question whether or not you're currently in Heaven. Tucked between Orleans Avenue and Esplanade on St. Ann, this is one of those unassuming-where-the-hell-are-we-hard-to-find kind of places. And while I have only been a few times, let me tell you, Ms. Peachez ain't got shit on the Fried Chicken at Willie Mae's. The building itself is so obviously an old house it's almost humorous. It's composed of small spaces with tight tables, and one of the most attentive and sweet staffs I've encountered. I went there for lunch today with my friend J.A. Our waitress Sylvia was great and honestly just fun. The menu only has four entreés: fried chicken, chicken-fried pork, pork, or veal. And while I knew the chicken was the best fried chicken I've ever had, in the spirit of trying to "DO ALL THE NEW ORLEANS" I decided to try something new and go with the gravy smothered veal. It was the right decision. The peppery-buttery gravy pooled around some of the most tender meat I may have ever eaten. The portions are giant, and while I was full half-way through my meal - I would not, I could not stop eating. And then just for good measure, I ate some of J.A.'s chicken too. If you get the chance go get some of this, it'll make your life a little bit better.

Yeah You Right, Joe.