When I was growing up, I equated fried chicken sandwiches with fast food. Cheap. Greasy. Questionable meat that was a step up from chicken nuggets, but a step down from chicken tenders.
Now, the chicken sandwich has gone through a remarkable glow up. Not only have fast food joints stepped up their game (Popeye’s I’m looking at you!) But you’ll find the humble fried chicken sandwich gracing the menus of some of the top restaurants in NYC.
Last year, my foodie friend Kate and I went on Lower East Side fried chicken sandwich crawl that was pretty darn successful. So successful that we decided it was time for a take two….
Let’s dive into another NYC fried chicken sandwich crawl.
Stop 1: Bessou
Bessou is located in a new food hall at Pier 57, which is the bottom floor of a fancy pants Google office. According to the website, Bessou spot offers a “modern take on everyday Japanese comfort food.” AKA loads of fried chicken options.
We got the Hot Honey Nanbam Chicken Sando which had Karaage fried chicken tossed in hot honey nanban, drizzled with shiso goddess sauce and smoked daikon on a scallion bun. The hot honey nanban gave a subtle zing, and I suppose the shiso (Japanesse mint) sauce was intended to add a freshness. Although I must admit I would have never known a mint component was involved had I not looked it up.
I’m at odds over whether I liked having karaage (chicken chunks) in the fried chicken sandwich as oppose to one big hunk of meat. But I will say the chicken itself was crunchy, juicy, and delicious.
Over all the flavors were quite enjoyable, but the big faux pas was the bun. It tasted almost stale, and couldn’t handle all the sauces.
While the sandwich was certainly tasty, it was also a whopping $18. But is it #wothit? Eh. I don’t think so.
Stop 2: Fields Good Chicken
Fields Good Chicken is a new fast casual chain in NYC that recently launched crispy chicken. We got a classic crispy chicken sandwich that had a huge hunk of juicy white meat chicken topped with a drizzle of hot honey and aioli. It had a nice crunch and solid juice levels. And I’m never mad about a potato bun…
It was $10.45, but they conveniently gave The Frugal Foodies a $50 credit to review the food. So for us it was free!
Stop 3: The Chicken and the Egg
We continued cross town to the Chicken and the Egg. The hole in the wall serves up LOADED chicken sandwiches that look quite impressive on social media. We went with the “KKANGPAE” (KANG-PEH) which had kokatsu Sauce, cabbage and scallion, kewpie mayo, and marinated egg on a Martin’s Potato Roll.
The feast for the eyes was epic. The assault to the taste buds was offensive. The “kokatsu sauce” tasted like bad, super sugary ketchup and none of the flavors worked together. I was skeptical of the oddly gray egg, and the chicken was far too fatty.
It was $13.25, but not worth a penny.
Stop 4: Bobwhite Counter
Bobwhite Counter has been serving up fried chicken for over 10 year. Their offerings are like KFC. But less corporate.
We started with the chicken biscuit. The chicken was toeing the edge of dry and the biscuit was far to thin with hardly any flake. We also got a chicken Cesar wrap that’s all the rage online. It hardly had any chicken and I wasn’t impressed with any of the flavors.
Not a winner.
I can’t say this fried chicken was the most successful foodie adventure I’ve ever had…
But as they say, you miss 100% of the chickens sandwiches that you never try!
