Indie Chicken
An occasional series that I hope all and sundry will contribute to. The varied quality of independent chickenmongerers has been of interest to me for some time and so I would like to solicit reviews of your local fried goods vendors, in the interest of the general populace. The meal consumed should preferably contain chicken pieces, hotwing(s), fries and an optional drink. I’m not overly given to scoring, but if you are, please feel free to indulge yourself.
#1: Chicken Cottage*, High Holborn, London WC1
Opposite the Princess Louise and handily placed for a mid-session filth fest last Saturday, we were dazzled by the brightness of the lighting and pleasantly surprised by the non-slashed state of the red pleather banquette seating. The chicken purveyed here is halal, which is nice, and also very common in central to north London. The breast piece and large drumstick I was given as part of my Cottage Meal (the name of which made me giggle for some reason, probably the same as the reason I regularly snigger at the Chicken Cottage logo) were tasty although a little dry, and definitely passable according to my drunken-scoffability meter. The fries (and these were definitely fries rather than chips) were skinny and crispy, but required an artery-flogging amount of salt to make them interesting. There was a sachet of tomato ketchup, but I was having no truck with that. The hotwings, or rather hotlegs (the disparate sizes of the various chicken legs in this meal would have been food for thought if it had not been food for hangover-aversion) were the outstanding feature of the meal, being a whole lot spicier than the corporate average, so much so that several gulps of the proprietary lemon-lime fizzy pop (surprisingly fruity) were required to assuage the burning thereby induced. There was a complimentary (also proprietary, they’re a classy bunch) lemon-scented freshening towelette, and then we went back to the pub. It did the job and was overall a pleasant fast-food experience.
More reviews please! Otherwise I’ll be forced to eat more filthy chicken myself, oh no.
* Whoa! You too can become part of the franchise.