Gainesville’s Best Fried Chicken Experience
By Tralon Williams
Just a few days after being dropped off by my parents for my freshman year at Northwestern University, I was taken to a place that I would remember for the rest of my life. On the corner of Garnett Pl and Ridge Rd, across the street from my future Apartment was the Chicken Shack. A building barely larger than your average living room, the Chicken Shack was never a celebrated establishment, but their loyal following spoke for itself. My first trip to chicken shack was one of the first times I can remember thinking, “This was the best food experience I have ever had.”
Around the same time in my life, I began to learn how to cook, years later I bought my own deep fryer and made it my mission to replicate the chicken I enjoyed at the Chicken Shack. Although I never quite mastered it, I feel like my personal recipe turned out good enough that I could enjoy both!
Flash forward to 2015. I had Northwestern degree in hand, said goodbye to Evanston (but mostly the Chicken Shack) and began anew in Gainesville. Throughout my time in Gainesville, I have continued to perfect my own recipe but I realized, since there is no Chicken Shack, there must be somewhere in Gainesville where I could replicate the type of experience that I had in Evanston. Which brings us here today. In my quest to find the best fried Chicken that Gainesville has to offer, I ate at popular quick-service restaurants near campus, local restaurants that don’t see heavy student traffic and even places that emulated the physical appearance of the Chicken Shack itself.
The rules were simple. At each location, because we had to find the best fried chicken on a graduate assistant budget, I ordered the least expensive form of fried chicken on their menu with various fixing’s which would contribute to the overall fried chicken experience.
PDQ (3403 W University Ave)
When I walked into PDQ, I was pleasantly surprised. I spent my entire first year in Gainesville driving past the location without as much as a second glance. However, I had more than a few people tell me I had to go there if I was going to be looking for the best fried chicken. With the holiday season in full blast, PDQ was the not only restaurant where I enjoyed my chicken to the sound of holiday music, however it certainly was the loudest rendition of “All I want for Christmas is You” that I was welcomed by. At PBQ, my order consisted of a 3-piece chicken tender combo with French fries, sweet tea and three dipping sauces: creamy garlic, buffalo blue and blueberry ginger.
(Juxtapose slider of chicken with close up.)
As far as the overall meal, it was pretty underwhelming given the chicness of the decorations inside the building. The chicken was incredibly on the very first bite, but it didn’t take long to realize that it was woefully under seasoned. There was enough salt for the tenders to be edible but not much else to note. That couldn’t be said for the French fries though. The salt level on those French fries made them soggy and incredibly unappetizing.
The sauces were really what helped PDQ stand out. The buffalo blue would satisfy a buffalo sauce purist, and the creaminess of the cheese mellowed the spice out perfectly. The creamy garlic sauce looks like ranch and smells like ranch but it wonderfully aromatic once it hits your pallet. The fresh herbs (parsley, thyme & dill) matched perfectly with the chicken and added the seasoning it was missing on its own.
Buffalo Blue and Creamy Garlic worked together to take PDQ out of the chicken experience doghouse, but the Blueberry Ginger sauce ultimately was the biggest disappointment of the afternoon. The sauce struck me as something unique and I knew I had to try it. The consistency of the sauce was less dipping sauce and more syrup. The offensively sweet taste was a huge turn-off for a savory meal. On pancakes? PDQ might have something special. But with fried-chicken? They missed the mark pretty bad with that one.
The Coop (1620 W University Ave)
The Coop’s location right on the edge of the University of Florida campus makes it a popular lunch location for students and faculty a lot. “I come here about once a month, mostly just because of how close it is,” said Sean Ridley, 30, the Director of Debate at the University of Florida. The coop’s aesthetic mimics that of the restaurants in the neighborhood with patio-style outdoor seating and televisions permanently on the ESPN network. Coop’s place on this list is largely due to its popularity amongst students and proximity on campus.
Although Coop’s biggest seller is their chicken tenders (Ridley’s self-proclaimed ‘go-to’ order,) I ordered the five piece jumbo chicken wing meal with onion rings, Texas toast, and Jamaican jerk sauce. As Ridley lamented his choice a 3 piece chicken tender with “coop sauce” — a sauce he described as “disappointing” — I was enjoying the new menu item I had given a chance too. Although Ridley agreed with my previous assessment of The Coop as an establishment that specialized in under seasoned chick, the wings were rubbed with a flavorful dry rub consisting of paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. The seasoning alone elevated the chicken well above the expectation for coop.
Unfortunately, the rest of the meal did not stand up to the chicken. The onion rings were fried in oil that was too cold, causing the onion rings to go soggy with breading that could not sustain through the first bite. The Texas toast was an effective vehicle for other foods, but on its own did not stand out in a substantial way. And the Jamaican Jerk sauce was too thin and lacked the punch of flavor expected of a jerk sauce.
Southern Charm Kitchen (1714 SE Hawthorne Rd)
It’s not every day that you get in your car with the expressed purpose of going to purchase a dish called “Pentecostal Fried Chicken.” Well that was exactly what brought me up Hawthorne road to find the little red building on the corner so small that without paying attention, could have you halfway to Alachua before you even know it’s behind you. When I explained the reason for my visit, hostess Melissa Glover, 25, exclaimed, “Well your search is over, the best fried chicken is right here.” The rest of the visit was quite delightful. Being in a southern restaurant I would be remiss to not test their sweet tea and not only did it pass with Flying colors, it was served in a mason jar. Bonus points for mason jars
“The owner traveled around the South and learned how to make fried chicken. But he is from Jamaica, so… Pentecostal Fried Chicken carries [some] significance in Jamaica,” said Glover as I placed my order for the dark meat fried chicken with macaroni and cheese and their seasonal dish of bacon-smoked okra.
The sheer size of the plate of food placed in front of me truly caught me off guard. But once I started to eat I was grateful for it. The man & cheese at first glance does not appear overly appealing. But one forkful revealed the perfection the pasta accomplished. At least three different types of cheese melted to hold together mounds of perfectly cooked pasta. The complemented the chicken perfect. Not only was the skin perfectly adhered to the meat, but it was incredibly well cooked. I was forced to admit that this chicken might actually be better than my own and on par with what I remember of the Chicken Shack.
Unfortunately, even this meal was without its flaw. The thing about okra is that when it is not treated properly, it takes on a slimy texture that is unappealing in every possible way. The mound of okra placed on my plate was incredibly slimy and just hard to eat. In addition, the use of bacon can make (literally) any dish a little bit better, but bacon still needs to be cooked properly. The bacon in the okra had not been fully rendered so it took on the texture of a small piece of rubber that clumped together so it could not be spread amongst the okra.
Flaws aside, this was an excellent meal that I would recommend everyone in Gainesville gets a chance to taste themselves
Hooks Fish & Chicken (1340 E University Ave)
Just up the road from Southern Charm Kitchen was Hook’s chicken and Fish which was very similar to the Chicken Shack. The small building is located on a small corner and its open kitchen allows the smell of fried goodies to permeate the entire building. Immediately upon walking inside, it’s hard not to take notice of their numerous menu items. “We have about 30–40 items on the menu. The most popular are chicken and shrimp but every item usually gets sold every day,” said manager-on-duty Gustavo Medina, 36. God Bless the poor soul who buys scallops and oysters. From personal experience, if you can smell the deep fryer when you walk into the building, stick to shrimp. Everything else is a gamble you may regret taking.
By far the cheapest option of the fried chicken options in Gainesville, Hook’s offered a 3 piece whole wings with fries basket for a mere $3.99. If you have to indulge your chicken cravings on a budget, this is the place to do it. Unfortunately, there are not many more good things to say about Hook’s food. The fries were so soggy they literally soaked through the bag they were carried in. By the time they made it onto the plate, the fries were inedible. The chicken, which due to the establishment’s aesthetic I was excited about, tasted of nothing more than salt and deep fryer oil that needed to be changed weeks ago. The breading had softened to the point that it required tremendous bite force just to break it down enough to swallow. If you need to eat cheap, Hook’s might be your best bet. But even then, sometimes you get exactly what you pay for.
If you are going to seek out the best fried chicken experience, the first thing you should do it come on over to my apartment. I still stand by my own fried chicken as some of the best I have ever had. But for convenience, The Coop offers enough of a variety to avoid their selections that are less enjoyable while still having a positive chicken experience. Though if you can get a ride a mean 5 miles away from campus, Southern Charm Chicken offers a chicken experience that appeals to senses well beyond taste. Even as I write this, I have been thinking non-stop about the leftover chicken and mac & cheese awaiting me once I complete this project.
“I have worked here for 7 months and this is the only fried chicken I eat,” said Glover as I finished my meal at the little red restaurant on Hawthorne. Now that I have finally had it for myself, I can understand why.
