Fried Chicken! I can’t say enough About It!
“an exerpt from the book Amazing Gastronomical Anecdotes by “Riverboat John” Ferguson, Stories-Songs-Strings-Stage & Pen
Years ago before the advent of what we’ll call fast food chains; fried chicken was quite often a subject for table discussion. Most folks always have a benchmark to refer to for judging food and discussing food. If you’re from say “way down South”, you have an idea of what fried chicken ought to be. Southern fried! Then the argument or discussion starts. Is it crispy? Is it crispy and seasoned? Is the seasoning hot and spicy or is it savory spiced? Or maybe, just plain old salt and pepper spiced? Is the crust thick and crunchy crispy or tender-thin crispy? Or is the crust soft and tender? Should it be cooked in lard, oil or Crisco? Deep fat or halfway up the chicken? Is it batter dipped or dry dipped? Buttermilk used? Eggs? Honey? Do you put the lid on to speed up the process or do you leave the lid off to get rid of the moisture. Lots of ways to do it before the discussion ends. Lot of different ideas about what Southern Fried Chicken is. In 1996, the town of Roswell, Georgia, hired me for the Olympics, to perform at Bulloch Hall as the “artist-in-residence”. This was the home of Teddy Roosevelt’s Grandparents. The setting was the epitome of “Southern Culture”. Parasols, hoop skirts, Civil War Re-enactors, tall hats and tails etc., and of course music. The grounds were set up to accommodate huge crowds of folks who were expected from all over the world. There were novelty vendors, children’s activities, carriage rides, tour buses, museum docents in dress, strolling living history people, etc., and of course food vendors. Food vendors from all over had bid or competed for the business.
This leads me to the point of discussion. I was sitting on the top step of the Bulloch Hall mansion, home of the man who commissioned the ill fated Confederate warship Alabama; the steps of a home considered by many to be the epitome of the South; in a “real” Southern town; with all the folks wearing their “Southern Period” clothing; watching African American primitive dancers; and as I looked up, I realized which food vendor had won the concession for fried chicken: Boston Fried Chicken!
Why of all things! A Company called Boston Fried Chicken; selling chicken to people from all over the world and these people either did not know any better, or didn’t care. My! Oh my! I had to know! I strolled down to the concession and walked back to the back where the cooks were and said, “Where y’all from”?
“Why, right here in Atlanta, boy”, “We been hired special, just for the Olympics to cook chicken”, this big lady said.
And then I noticed the menu on the wall. Special Olympic Dinner, Southern Fried Chicken (Crispy and Tasty). What a deal! Who would have thought Boston Fried Chicken would be selling Southern Fried Chicken in Atlanta, Georgia? Great sales job! ............Then you got your Maryland fried, KFC original recipe, Popeye’s New Orleans hot and spicy, Roy Rogers fried, etc., cluck, cluck, and cluck Whether you like your chicken finger lickin’ good or knuckle suckin’ good, or just “right tasty”, we all have something to say about fried chicken. Lot’s more.
Footnote: The bomb “screwed up” the Olympics. Roswell suffered a financial loss, and Boston Fried Chicken is a successful fast food chain operating very well in the Atlanta Area. Specialty Southern Fried Chicken (Crispy and Tasty) Fried Chicken! I can’t say enough about it.
