05 October, 2010

Fire Up the Fryers!





According to a foron up at The Daily Page, westsiders will be getting a JJ's Fish and Chicken as well as an outpost of Harold's Chicken Shack, a Chicago-based chain.

I went to the JJ's on the east side over the weekend and sure enough, there was a coming soon sign saying that they will be opening over at 811 S. Gammon Road. It didn't give a date, though. I've found JJ's hit or miss. Namely, they never seem to have chicken breasts available for the chicken breast dinner. When it first happened, I let it go because I witnessed a woman bringing about 20 disposable chafing-dishes out to her car just as I arrived. But it's now happened again which makes me suspicious. On the other hand, they now serve Chicago-style Italian beef and it's good. Probably the best in town. The beef is seasoned well, the bread is right, and they don't attempt to put cheese on it. Could have used some more gravy, though.

I can't find anything on the Net about the Chicken Shack, however.

While I'm on the topic of food, has anyone ever ordered from the person who advertises "Delicious home made halal briyani available!!" over at the Madison Desi classifieds? Here's the catering menu:

VEGETABLE BRIYANI - $5/ORDER

CHICKEN BRIYANI - $7/ORDER

GOAT MEAT BRIYANI - $8/ORDER

BRINJAL SIDE DISH - $3/ORDER (could serve up to 3)

CHICKEN 65 - $5 (4 pieces)

All Briyani comes with onion raita and salad(optional).

Sounds good to me.

6 comments:

  1. Have you had the Italian Beef from the FIBs cart? I've only had it once, and I was hungry and a little drunk, but it was pretty damn tasty at the time.

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  2. Yes, I've had the beef at the FIBS cart many a time. Good stuff. But JJs, oddly enough, made a better beef. The bread was right and the beef was seasoned a bit better too.

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  3. Well! As the JJs on the east side is just yards from my back yard, I will have to give it a shot.

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  4. Let me know what you think.

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  5. After more than a week of gustatory anticipation, I walked through my back yard to JJ's and picked up an Italian Beef and an order of gizzards to share. The Italian beef was excellent. The beef was flavorful and the bread soaked up a load of juice without falling to pieces. The mild giardiniera with green olives was saltier and less spicy than FIB's. It was a delicious sandwich and will likely join my regular "I Don't Want to Cook Tonight" dinner rotation.

    As an aside, the gizzards were the best I've had in a long time, if not ever. They had been chopped a bit, which I think sped the cooking, so the coating was light and crispy and the gizzards weren't over-cooked or extra-tough. I don't know why I choose gizzards when there is tender and flavorful fried chicken available, but dammit, I just love them.

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  6. I agree. The giardiniera was salty. I might just get my next one without it, bring it home, and put on my own as I usually have a jar.

    I don't think I've had their gizzards but will have to now.

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