Top 5 Chicken (and Duck) Joints
When I was a kid, chicken was a delicacy saved for Sunday best and Mum’s roast chook was the highlight of the week. Then charcoal chicken shops spread throughout the ‘burbs, supermarkets installed rotisseries and it became a quick midweek meal. Now chickens (and their feathered cousins) are regaining culinary ground, with a host of great places dedicated to poultry in its many delicious guises. Here are five of my favourite chicken (and duck) joints.
Belles Hot Chicken Forest Lodge (Tramsheds)
www.belleshotchicken.com
Hot chicken and natural wine – two of my favourite things! Throw in crinkle-cut Old Bay fries, a tangy spicy mayo called Mississippi Comeback, great mac & cheese and friendly staff who know their stuff, and Morgan McGlone has a winning formula. Also at Barangaroo, Haymarket and Melbourne.
The Paddington Paddington
www.merivale.com/venues/thepaddington
The humble barbecued chook may be standard takeaway fare, but when free-range Bannockburn birds are brined and cooked on a huge French rotisserie by Ben Greeno, it’s a different thing altogether. Add interesting sides and other bites, great drinks list and smart service and I might just stay all night.
Le Coq Rozelle
www.lecoqrotisserie.com.au
Friendly staff are under the pump at this bustling spot specialising in French rotisserie, where chicken and duck star in various forms (à l’orange, Provençal, forestière, Creole). Other highlights include duck croquettes with harissa mayo and insanely moreish smoked duck fat popcorn with garlic and thyme.
Butter Surry Hills
www.buttersydney.com.au
Hip hop and sneakers sit alongside Dom and Krug at this buzzing hole-in-the-wall. Bridging the gap is egalitarian fried chicken! Neither strictly southern nor Korean, though there is an Asian riff, it’s crunchy, juicy and moreish. The mushroom burger is excellent and a fluffy hot cinnamon-dusted doughnut, the perfect finish.
Holy Duck Chippendale
www.holyduck.com.au
While the hot and numbing chicken wings are good – duck, in all its delicious forms, is the star here: crisp-skinned and shredded inside pancakes with cucumber and green onions, excellent duck san choy bao, steamed duck & pork dumplings, and duck & mushroom spring rolls.
Last updated 9 Feb 2020
