A few Saturday nights ago a bunch of us went to this new fried chicken restaurant in the East Village called the Cardinal. There are so many things wrong with that sentence. Saturday night. New. East Village. Those three words in one sentence is lethal and I'm still kicking myself for letting it happen. But the fried chicken was actually one of the best I've tasted and it overcame the fact that they were pretty much out of everything else on the menu, a three hour wait and an "accidental" two bottles of wine charge on the bill. While we were walking to the Beagle for drinks after dinner, one of my friends Wonita, who mind you is from the south (Alabama south), agreed in my observation of the fried chicken at the Cardinal but she said if you really want fried chicken you need to go to Peaches Hothouse in Brooklyn. Her recommendation was in the back of my mind until Friday when I finally got to check it out first hand.
When people think of Brooklyn now they usually think of Williamsburg or Carroll Gardens as food destinations in Brooklyn. Which isn't a bad assessment; those areas have some damn good restaurants. I've literally ate through those neighborhoods though. So I was happy to find out that Peaches Hothouse is in Bed-Stuy which is deep down in Brooklyn. Like real deep. Lucky I had a car but still took a good 40 minutes from the Upper East.
My friend and I got the last two seats at the bar and ordered some beers. I was shocked to see how many locals were coming in for takeout. (You know what they say; if there are a lot of Chinese people in a Chinese restaurant it must be good, well the same goes for soul food....if you get my drift.) Everyone was ordering the same damn thing, fried chicken "hot" with cornbread and the bacon creamed corn. I started panting and needing me some creamed corn. But I controlled myself and we ordered the fried green tomatoes and portobello mushroom to start. Recently I've been hooked on fried green tomatoes. Had them at Union Square Cafe a few weeks back and to be honest I think Peaches was better and about half the cost. We then split the fried chicken. We got two pieces regular and one piece hot. They are famous for their hot so needed to try it.
Wowers! It was damn good fried chicken. Breast, thigh and a wing was the perfect amount for two. The skin was flavorful but not overwhelming and the meat was juicy but not too juicy to ruin the skin. It was perfect. The hot was the equivalent to a bbq chip, which was just right. But the best part of the meal of that damn bacon creamed corn. It was almost like a soup, not a casserole like they serve at Hill Country, and it was one the tastiest things I've ever eaten. With belly full, I smiled the whole hour car ride home especially when driving past the East Village.
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