Hill Country Chicken

 In the Flatiron District of Manhattan, the equivalent of the Bermuda triangle had formed for food lovers, which I like to call Foodmuda and I was planted in the middle of it. Eataly, Shake Shack and Hill Country Chicken, all stationed on opposite corners from each other and forming a triad of deliciousness. Okay, so maybe it’s not a perfect triangle. It’s more like a triangle drawn by the kid in your second grade class who used to eat glue and pee in his pants on purpose. It was lunch time and I had to make a decision quickly, so I employed my usual method - the good old coin toss. Hill Country Chicken won. 

Hill Country Chicken is located on the corner of Broadway and East 25th Street. As you walk into the space, your eyes are immediately drawn to the high ceilings, colorful wall paper and wood paneling. The bright and airy design hits your eyes and senses like you just landed into the middle of a square dancing competition. To the left is a large display case filled with fresh baked pies, which I hear are out of this world, and a counter to order chicken that resemebled an old school southern kitchen you would find in someones trailer  home. It was early so there was tons of seating. 

I scanned the menu of chicken, sandwiches, sides and pies. I figured I’d go basic and try the fried chicken. There are two versions of it: Hill Country Classic and Mama Els’ Recipe, the latter of which is someone’s grandmother’s recipe. I decided to go with Mama Els’ and got a breast ($5.50), thigh ($3.50), small coleslaw ($2.50), biscuit ($1) and small drink ($2). 

While some country song about some slack jaw yokel's meth-addicted wife, who left him for his brother’s bloodhound Chauncey was playing loudly in the background, I took my first bite out of the chicken breast and in a split second, its juices exploded. I’ve never had such a juicy piece of white meat chicken in my life. The skin was crispy and perfectly seasoned and had a little bite to it and didn’t have a heavy coating of flour on it. It was so huge, I couldn’t even finish it. If this is what southern fried chicken is I'm about to Buy a trailer, marry my cousin, learn to play the banjo and move my ass to the south! 

The coleslaw was cold, crisp and refreshing. Light on the mayo and I think I even tasted a hint of wasabi. I’d love to eat this again on a hot summer day.

I LOVE BISCUITS! And this biscuit is one reason why; lightly buttered and salted, crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside.

My tab came to $15.50, which seems a little pricey for 2 pieces of chicken, a side, biscuit and small drink. Although, now that I am educated on the size of the birds Hill Country serves, it was totally worth it. Did I mention they have Boylan’s soda on tap? That being said, Hill Country Chicken is definitely my favorite chicken joint. 

Hill Country Chicken 

1123 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 

(212) 257-6446

www.hillcountrychicken.com