Steve McNulty - Project Fried Bird

Project Fried Bird - delicious research

March 2, 2019 | By Steve McNulty + Kevin Wang

Oh boy. The recent resurgence of the fried chicken sandwich has led to many new restaurants specializing in the dish as well as many restaurants adding the item to its menus. With such prevalence we’d like to establish some order. This is the intent of publishing the fried chicken sandwich index (FCSI). We allow that there’s room for personal taste, but our intent is to objectively measure sandwiches in order to classify them as broadly superior, average, or uh, not worth your time.

Why Chicago? That Bon Appetit magazine would name it the Culinary Capital of America is surprising for just a single reason and that’s the east coast bias that creeps into content creator’s work as they jet from coast to coast over “flyover country”. AND we agree. Reference Grace/Alinea Chef’s Table.More than hot dogs and pizza. Chicken sandwiches. Southern influence. Every restaurant in Rome has the same menu, but each has their own take on the dish. You’ll find the chicken sandwich bridging both the high and the low. From the shack to fine dining you can find the chicken sandwich.

My boyfriend Kevin hit on something that I took for granted. That the brioche bun, though it tastes good on its own, tends to dominate the texture and the % of each bite of the sandwich during mastication. The bun after all, is a vehicle, not the star, and it should complement, not overshadow the chicken.

We love Chicago even after we moved to the bay area. It happened to be a great time to be living in Chicago with its booming culinary scene. It’s not surprising to those who follow the Chicago restaurant scene that there’s international level culinary and hospitality talent here. I have a chip on my shoulder about this. But we like what’s happening here right now.

Fried chicken is special. It takes a lot of steps. It’s messy. It’s particularly delicious. It satiates in a unique way. If fried chicken were a drug, we might say that it provides a piquing stimulation that is initially highly addictive to the tongue. After the first bite you immediately go back like an addict until the body realizes some longer term signals of satiation. The main protein you have consumed fills you up even though that fried skin never will.