DALLAS (KDAF) — When that fresh, hot plate of fried chicken you ordered hits the table and you can see the steam rise from the gorgeous, crispy piece of chicken alongside some absurdly good-looking sides it’s hard to resist the temptation to dig in without having a care in the world of the hurt your tongue and mouth are going to go through due to your impatience.
Everyone claims their go-to spot for fried chicken can rival the other top spots across the country. Well, if your spot made Eater’s list of the Best Fried Chicken in America, then yes you’re right. If not, they may have some more work to do, respectfully.
Now, this isn’t a chance to diss your buddy’s pick or your sister’s favorite fried chicken spot, it’s a mere celebration of some of the best crispy bird restaurants out there. Of course, Texas, as well as Oklahoma made the cut in Eater’s rankings.
Starting in the south from the Lone Star State is The Jerk Shack in San Antonio. Here’s what Hillary Dixler Canavan had to say about this veteran-owned Texas restaurant, “Army vet and chef-owner Lattoia Massey, known by her professional name, Nicola Blaque, opened a small walk-up shop with her husband, Cornelius Massey, just two years after graduating from culinary school. Then, in 2022, she upgraded to a larger space with a full-blown dining room on a busy main road. In its new home, the restaurant serves fried legs and thighs, but visit on Wednesdays to try the jerk-spiced wings, an instant classic that landed the Jerk Shack on Eater’s 2019 best new restaurants list. Massey is known for bringing the Caribbean to San Antonio, and these wings are a case in point; they’re crispy and succulent, and served with sauces that crackle with tropical flavors like mango and habanero.”
Not too far from Texas, in Oklahoma is Eischen’s Bar in Okarche; they also made the cut for their crispy birds. Here’s what Matt Kirouac had to say about this Oklahoma restaurant, “Originally opened as Eischen’s Saloon in 1896, the bar predates statehood by 11 years and still looks preserved in ambergris with its taxidermy-clad brick walls, hand-carved back bar, and framed newspaper clippings exalting the fried chicken. The chicken is a time traveler, too. The bar uses a recipe perfected in the 1960s: same secret blend of herbs and spices, same 15-minute dip in soybean oil at 330 degrees. Whole birds are the main draw, served in a golden brown heap on paper trays, skin aglow in a thin sheen of oil from dedicated fryers (other items, like okra, are fried separately). Even the prices are preserved in time; along with white bread, pickles, and raw onion slices, each gigantic platter goes for $16.”
For more of the best fried chicken in America from Eater, click here.
