Honey Butter Fried Chicken...Hallelujah and Amen!

"Hallelujah and Amen", words usually reserved for religious discussion, are well deserved in conversation about this new Fried Chicken joint from the folks at the Sunday Dinner Club. I was there for their grand opening on Saturday night, and came away so impressed I almost went back the next day...

Saturday was my birthday, and my wife had suggested all sorts of steak houses, going to a play, etc., etc....and I said - "you know, I just want to take a rare Saturday night off work and go out for some fried chicken and drinks"....just so happens HBFC was having their grand opening, and that was just perfect - I am honored to share a birthday with this place.

Upon arriving, my phone died - so no photos in this post (gives me an excuse to return). While this hindered me from taking photos, checking in, and tagging fb photos...it allowed me to exist only in real life - totally disconnected from my restaurant life, unable to take calls, or be bothered. It made the experience even better! I highly recommend turning off your phone once in awhile, it feels good!

At 730pm, there was a line out the door (which really only means 10 people waiting a la Hot Dougs), about 25 people total in line. We were a little surprised to see the line - we parked on Roscoe next to their patio, and there were about 40 open seats on the patio. While waiting in line, it was also clear there were about 25 seats open in the restaurant. This was really my only very minor quibble, and it seemed to annoy others in line - why a line with so many open seats? They seemed to be spacing orders out a little bit to manage the flow of things, and it's counter service - so if 20 people show up in a short window, that line will form quickly.

On to the food: Seeing the menu online, it looked a little shallow - the only protein is fried chicken. I'm OK with that for me - as that's why I was visiting - but I did wonder if everyone else would be OK with this. Upon seeing the full menu (listing daily specials and such) - it has some depth to it, and vegans/friends/heathy non-fried chicken eaters will do just fine here. We ordered a 4 piece chicken dinner, kale & cabbage slaw, chinese broccoli w/ red pepper sauce, 3 sisters farm roasted corn soup, pimento mac n cheese, and a couple "Smoked Derby" cocktails. I went to the bar to chat up the guy making cocktails, and was impressed with the bar service.

The "Smoked Derby" is described as "Very Old Barton Bourbon, Grapefruit, Smoked Paprika Syrup". The cocktail is premixed in liter bottles (bourbon, syrup, grapefruit juice) and poured with some seltzer to fizz it up, which I thought was clever and made bar service quite fast. The bar staff was friendly, and very hip (with handlebar mustache and all)...and the "Smoked Derby" was an awesome drink - perfect balance of sweet/smokey/bitter/boozeyness that made for a great pre-meal drink.

By the time dinner had arrived, I moved on to a drink that I think pairs well with the chicken - The "CORIANDER SANGRITA". This drink is super clever and the flavors go really well with their menu. It's Tomato juice, Coop Rum Barrel Hot Sauce, Corazon Blanco Tequila and lime poured over rocks - topped with Tecate Beer. When they pour the drink, the "body" of the drink fills half the glass - so your initial pour of beer is only about 4 oz. This makes the first sip super spicy, tomatoey, and heavy on tequila. It's a nice punch...as you drink, you continue to add tecate (they give you the can). By the time you're at the end of the drink, it's mostly beer with a mild tomato/hot sauce taste. I liked the progression of that as I ate my fried chicken.

The main show (this is getting lengthy, I just loved it THAT much): The Fried Chicken! Perfectly Fried, crispy - great breading, high quality chicken. These folks have really figured it out! Nothing pleases me more than to announce Honey Butter Fried Chicken as the best in Chicago...I've been disappointed with the fried chicken in this city for so long, and it's never made any sense to me: a midwestern city full of carnivorous fried food lovers - with no "go-to" spot (harolds fans, don't start with me..it's fine, but not worth writing about on a national level). I was super excited when Parson't opened, until I actually ate there...Honey Butter lived up to, and exceeded, the hype surrounding the fried chicken - UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE AMAZEBALLS! Adding their honey butter to the top of it is a revelation, and takes it to a level of indescribable deliciousness - go now, you need to experience this fried chicken!

The sides were all great as well - the kale and cabbage slaw had dried pomegranates, giving it a nice textural balance of soft greens and crunchy sweet pomes..the chinese broccoli dressed with a red pepper sauce was awesome, and the roasted corn soup from 3 sisters farms was good enough to write a paragraph about (I won't, just try it - it's delicious). Pimento Mac n cheese was delicious too, but I eat mac n cheese too often so it wasn't as exciting for me..

What impressed me the most was how put-together everything was for opening night. This was one of the best openings I've ever been to, from folks that have (from what I can tell) never owned a restaurant before. They've been doing the Sunday Dinner club thing for awhile, and apparently it's paid off. They have done their research, test-cooked everything to a point of mastery, and really thought out the entire restaurant/service process to perfection...This is one of my new favorites in town, and I can't wait to get back.

Honey Butter Fried Chicken
3361 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, IL

pics of the space from eater:

I want to check this place out, but I hope they have the usual sides that I would want with fried chicken. Thanks for the long review - long reviews are the best!

i live walking distance to this place. i am stoked and can't wait to check it out. and i've resolved that i will never get my 6 pack abs.

We also ate there on Saturday night. I LOVED the chicken, some of the best I have ever had and I cannot wait to go back. The sides I will pass on. It's not that they were poorly made per se, just kind of lackluster compared to the main show. Kale slaw needed some vinegar or other punch and the kale was overpowering to me, mac and cheese was ok I guess, and the sweet potato salad was also a good idea just didn't ring the bell for me. I'm sure others will like them, I didn't want to waste valuable tummy space on anything other than the chix and the bottomless Boylans and Goose Island Ginger beer!

Note I am not saying the sides were bad, I understand they just opened, etc. etc. ad nauseum. For my palate I didn't care for them. YMMV.

Back to the chicken, WOW. I am hitting up the Spice House this week for some smoked paprika to add to any future fried items, what a great accent it added. Can't wait to go back, payday cannot get here soon enough!

My dear husband stopped and picked up a 4 piece for me while I was commuting home on the train. I would estimate that a good 15-20 minutes passed between the time he picked it up and I got home to eat it. The four piece consisted of a leg, thigh and I think 2 breasts. The thigh and breast were deboned. On the positive side, chicken was very moist and if you like a heavy breading, that is definitely their style. I do like breading, however, for me, the seasoning was on the bland side. I added more salt and now that I think about it, I should have added some fresh black pepper. Breading was very crunchy, but I found the skin underneath to be flabby. Not sure if any of that was due to the amount of time that passed before I ate it. Chicken came with two pieces of the cornbread which was slightly sweet and tasted good smeared with their honey-butter. I did pour some of the honey-butter over the chicken for the true honey butter experience. While honey and butter are a great combo together, I'm not sure how much I really liked it on the chicken. It didn't taste bad; I guess I just prefer to not pour more fat over my fried chicken. Overall- good, not great or mind blowing. I' ll give it another chance since they've just opened and I would like to dine in to see if that makes a difference in the quality.

I really liked the chicken when I ate there for one of the friends and family nights as well. the leg and thigh pieces were thoroughly cooked, which, to me, means that the meat is melting and tender, not just devoid of any pinkish hue. when dark meat meat is cooked correctly you can eat almost the entire piece, which is what I did with the pieces we got...after I slathered them with honey butter.

I agree that putting the honey butter right onto the chicken pieces and digging in is the way to go. taken all together, the sweet richness takes the fried chicken to a whole new level. I also liked the unique cut on the breasts, which leaves just one (I think) bone on but removes the tip, resulting in kind of a baseball size/shape on the finished product. What this does is give a more uniform shape and minimizes the tendency to overcook the delicate white meat. Very cool, something I'd never seen before. These guys have clearly done their homework.

I also really enjoyed the heavier coating because that's the style of fried chicken I prefer. It was crunchy as heck, but also adhered well to the chicken. I thought it was seasoned well, didn't need salt, and I could taste a good kick of black pepper, in addition to what tastes to me like a good amount of Old Bay in there. What struck me was how well rendered the chicken skin underneath the batter was and how non-greasy this fried chicken was. It was clearly fried and had all the qualities I like in fried chicken, but there was nearly no grease whatsoever.

my one complaint is that there aren't any biscuits to slather that honey butter onto....

full disclosure--I ate for free and I'm friends with some of the owners, so take my post for what it's worth.

elakin wrote:my one complaint is that there aren't any biscuits to slather that honey butter onto....

Sometime last year (I think), I went to an event at the outdoor space at Bang Bang Pie, where Honey Butter provided fried chicken (and honey butter) and Bang Bang supplied biscuits (plus pies). Chicken + biscuits + honey butter = great combo. More recently, had a chicken sandwich meal from Honey Butter at some thing they did at Half Acre's tap room, and the chicken was great then as well. Look forward to trying it out fresh from the fryer.

Incidentally, Honey Butter, Hot Doug's and Kuma's now combine in that area to create some sort of culinary Bermuda Triangle -- the place where New Years Resolutions and good intentions go to die.

elakin wrote:my one complaint is that there aren't any biscuits to slather that honey butter onto....

Damn. I really was hoping they'd have biscuits. But the reviews are sounding pretty good.

elakin wrote:I also liked the unique cut on the breasts, which leaves just one (I think) bone on but removes the tip, resulting in kind of a baseball size/shape on the finished product.

I wonder if they cut the breast like Joe's Seafood and Prime Steak does for their fried chicken? Once in a great while I come across a place that will cut the breast in a different way and this sounds similar the way you described it Eddie.

They have (or intend to have) biscuits. I think that comment applied to a special event.

There was a place I went to as a child that offered honey for their fried chix, and had biscuits as well. It was from the south if I remember and there was a Colonel involved. Never needed salt either. Wonder what ever happened to them?

They have corn muffin/cakes.

Has anyone who isn't friends with the owners eaten here?

disagree wrote:Has anyone who isn't friends with the owners eaten here?

rubbbqco, Octarine and buttercream have all posted above about their dining experiences and none mentioned that they were friends with the owners.

=R=

Ok, then!

...just to confirm, I do not know the owners - well, actually I sort of do in a professional way. The first large catering job I ever took was ruined by the "Sunday Dinner Club" group. When I was just a caterer, I worked out of Kitchen Chicago - same co-op kitchen "Sunday Dinner Club" worked out of. My first big job - a meal for 200 people - I was scheduled to begin my prep at 8pm (night before gig). The Sunday Dinner Club people were scheduled to have the kitchen ahead of me (until 8pm), but they were still in full swing when I showed up. Despite countless requests, polite requests, it took a huge confrontation to finally get them out of the kitchen that I was now paying for - over an hour after they were scheduled to be out. My prep lasted an extra 2 hours that night, my cook times were off, I got no sleep, and I was just overall pissed at them for being so inconsiderate. That was like 7 years ago - but anytime their name came up...I would secretly boil. After eating there on Saturday, I finally forgave them for their transgressions...

It's just damn good chicken, even if you don't want it to be!

I think that definitely qualifies you to be exempted from "friend" status

So what were the conditions of entry on Saturday if you don't mind sharing?

I wouldn't know the owners if I was standing next to them. Never been to their previous incarnations, didnt even know they were located at their current place.

I went on Friday, during the soft open and posted this on the Opening and Closing board, and I also am not friends with the owners.

Honey Butter Fried Chicago is finally open tonight. We went last night for their soft opening, and it was really good. They seemed to have their act together and the staff were great. The chicken was, of course, phenomenal.

Honey Butter Fried Chicken
http://www.honeybutter.com/‎
3361 N Elston Ave
Chicago, IL 60618

I do not know the owners, nor had i even heard of their Sunday night dinner club before now.

Today I learned that putting butter and/or honey on fried chicken is a thing.

P.S.: Not friends with the owners. Or anyone who puts butter and/or honey on fried chicken. Or anyone, really.

And to round things out, I'm a close friend of one of the owners. But have not yet been to the restaurant. Film at 11.

Was there last night. I have never in my life (it sounds like hyperbole, but isn't) had white meat of chicken that was as good as this. Both white and dark were perfection, but I'm a dark meat guy, so it doesn't take all that much to make me happy if you're giving me a leg or thigh. If all chicken breasts were as moist, flavorful, fully-cooked but not one degree more than fully-cooked, as the one at Honey Butter, I'd be bi.

Special side of creamed corn with Thai green curry was fantastic as well.

The meal was one of those in which normal considerations of "appetite" fly out the window just because the food is so darned good. You find yourself hungrier than you normally are, and want to keep eating without thought to how full you may already be feeling, because the food has put you into some kind of unlimited-appetite zone. It doesn't happen very often.

Line was not terribly long when we arrived at 6:10. This could be because of the earliness of the hour, or because of the rainstorm, I don't know. Everyone was very friendly and table service was great.

riddlemay wrote:Was there last night. I have never in my life (it sounds like hyperbole, but isn't) had white meat of chicken that was as good as this. Both white and dark were perfection, but I'm a dark meat guy, so it doesn't take all that much to make me happy if you're giving me a leg or thigh. If all chicken breasts were as moist, flavorful, fully-cooked but not one degree more than fully-cooked, as the one at Honey Butter, I'd be bi.

Special side of creamed corn with Thai green curry was fantastic as well.

The meal was one of those in which normal considerations of "appetite" fly out the window just because the food is so darned good. You find yourself hungrier than you normally are, and want to keep eating without thought to how full you may already be feeling, because the food has put you into some kind of unlimited-appetite zone. It doesn't happen very often.

Line was not terribly long when we arrived at 6:10. This could be because of the earliness of the hour, or because of the rainstorm, I don't know. Everyone was very friendly and table service was great.

Pretty much ditto. Except that I felt the food was very expensive for what it was. The people ahead of me spent $100 on dinner for two. At a fried chicken place.

fropones wrote:

riddlemay wrote:Was there last night. I have never in my life (it sounds like hyperbole, but isn't) had white meat of chicken that was as good as this. Both white and dark were perfection, but I'm a dark meat guy, so it doesn't take all that much to make me happy if you're giving me a leg or thigh. If all chicken breasts were as moist, flavorful, fully-cooked but not one degree more than fully-cooked, as the one at Honey Butter, I'd be bi.

Special side of creamed corn with Thai green curry was fantastic as well.

The meal was one of those in which normal considerations of "appetite" fly out the window just because the food is so darned good. You find yourself hungrier than you normally are, and want to keep eating without thought to how full you may already be feeling, because the food has put you into some kind of unlimited-appetite zone. It doesn't happen very often.

Line was not terribly long when we arrived at 6:10. This could be because of the earliness of the hour, or because of the rainstorm, I don't know. Everyone was very friendly and table service was great.

Pretty much ditto. Except that I felt the food was very expensive for what it was. The people ahead of me spent $100 on dinner for two. At a fried chicken place.

Wow. I agree with you that it's "expensive for fried chicken," but while I come down on the side that it's well worth it for this fried chicken, I can't even imagine how the couple in front of you ran up a $100 tab. My wife only had sides (!) so we're not a good comparison. But our friends, between the two of them, got one 4-piece dinner, one 2-piece dinner, a side apiece, and a beer apiece, and their tab came to $47. Which ain't cheap, but it ain't $100 either. (I know how much their dinner cost because they were in front of us and when I heard the guy say how much they owed, my ears perked up with sticker shock on their behalf. But still, not $100.)

Did the couple with the $100 order have wine or a pitcher of cocktails? Looking at the menu, alcohol could quickly push a dinner for two over the $100 mark. Sample meal for two hungry and thirsty individuals: $28 for 8 pieces of chicken, $14 for four sides, $30 for a pitcher of cocktails (wine could be even more), $7 for two pieces of cake, plus 9.25% sales tax and 20% tip gets you to $102.11.

I guess I can see now how that's possible. I was figuring a beer per head might be a reasonable average, but if somebody orders a pitcher of cocktails, all bets are off. (I confess to not even knowing about or ever having seen a "pitcher of cocktails" in a restaurant, but I've led a sheltered life.) And I wasn't thinking about dessert. (Perhaps because I was distracted by the fried chicken.)

I'm assuming they purchased a bottle of wine or a pitcher of cocktails. But I really wasn't paying attention until I heard the price

And that's also not to say that I won't be back to eat more chicken. Because it was quite awesome. As was the chinese broccoli with spicy tomato sauce.

Was there with my wife last night. 8 pieces (with biscuits and honey butter), 3 sides, 1 cocktail, 20% tip was $56.90. Not the greatest value, really. And if I'd realized how little service was provided, I might not have left such a large tip. I was taken by surprise having to decide on the tip amount upfront, when I paid for the order. Had I known at that point that I'd be filling my own water, I probably would have waited until the end of the meal and just thrown a couple bucks in the tip jar. Still I can think of worse things than overtipping hard-working folks who are on their feet for several hours at a time.

Personally, I thought the food was just ok. I found the dusting of smoked paprika applied to the chicken after the cooking to be really overwhelming and out of place. It just didn't work for me. The crust of the chicken was just too sweet for my palate -- not initially but definitely in the aftertaste. And given that I thought it was too sweet, I had no use at all for the honey butter. I tasted it and it was fine but definitely not something I wanted on my chicken -- biscuits, perhaps. I agree with others who've posted above that the breast was juicy, and that was probably a highlight for me. But in the end, this chicken was just too overwrought for me.

I liked the slaw but the daily pickles were nothing more than some small cubes of beets and carrots served in a tiny plastic cup. I guess I was expecting something a bit more finger-friendly. Mac & Cheese had nice flavor but was dry, dry, dry. Michelada was fine but a far cry from the rendition served at Parson's, which is spicier and more flavorful.

All in all it was fine but I don't see myself rushing back.

=R=

One of Ronnie's points reminded me to mention: There are many local pickle plates these days, most at trendy casual spots, and most fail (Bad Apple, for example). But that Cletus dude at Fountainhead is the pickling king of Chicago. His puckery plate stands tall and is a huge bargain. Plus it goes great with beer. Anyway, I've barely caught up w/ Parsons let alone HB, and I find myself in small town Downstate, Michigan, Indiana and points south enough that hipster chicken hasn't grabbed my attention. I like reading the rapt reviews, though, and happy to see it's the next "thing." Fried bird is basically the best still-scratch option in much of the middle US where fried bird pride oddly still abides. I say oddly because in so many town grills and cafes where most of the stuff is from a can or a bag of frozen Edward Don, the "please allow 20 minutes for chicken" warning maintains its place on the menu. I love it, but don't get it. We're down to pie, soup (less so) and fried yardbird in much of the heartland. Long live American fried to order, on the bone, chicken.