Price’s Chicken Coop in Charlotte, N.C.

The middle of March, I had to attend a conference in Charlotte, N.C. Well, what does a foodie do when they are going to another city? They explore great food spots. Charlotte is famous for their southern style of food and I was ready to try it. The first place I tried was Price’s Chicken Coop.

Price’s is a Charlotte institution featured on food network as one of the top three places in the country for fried chicken and in Gourmet Magazine in July 08. Originally, this was a place in the 1930’s that sold dressed chickens. In 1963, Talmadge Price decided to start doing take out meals to accommodate the local blue-collar workers who wanted something that was cooked, hearty, reasonably priced and could be carried back to work to eat in the 30 minutes they had for a lunch break. This is still the idea that drives how they run the business today.

It is a take out only, pay with cash spot. My friend, Dottie and I arrived early since it was reported that long lines form around noon. We got there at 10:45 am and since it was the first meal of the day for us, we ordered the platter. Actually, it comes in a box that is the size of a small pizza box.

Inside is a long counter with three ladies wearing hairnets standing behind it. On the counter were rows of sweet tea in drink cups and wrapped desserts to go. There is also a pop machine in the corner if you don’t care for sweet tea. You go up, place your order and in just a matter of minutes, you are served. Of course, this is at 10:45 am. I’m sure the wait gets longer, the later you arrive.

There are more employees behind the ladies, manning the chicken fryers. Clouds of steam puff up behind them from vats of boiling oil where glistening pieces of chicken emerge. It is cash only. There is a sign outside that says, have your order ready to place, or you will be passed by. Fair warning. They have been doing this a long time and they have it all down to a science. Everything is designed for speed and efficiency.

I ordered the white meat platter. It came with a breast and wing, two hushpuppies, dinner roll, coleslaw with a pickle on top, and tater tots.

It was piping hot. The chicken was a lovely golden hue with a light crust of crispy skin and little else. Any seasoning is minimal but the taste if full-scale. Inside the crust is very moist, flavorful meat. Just the taste of great fried chicken. It leaves just the slightest film of oil on your fingertips.

The tater tots were very crispy and golden. They crunched as you ate them. The hushpuppies were nice and flavorful. The coleslaw was mixed with a salad dressing based sauce. The roll was a regular roll from a plastic bag. The star of the platter is the chicken and tater tots.

We were lucky enough to grab a parking spot in front, so we ate in the car and watched the foot traffic and cars arrive. The closer, it got to 11:30, the more it increased. People would pull up in front, a passenger would hop out and go in while the driver went around the block. They would return with bags or boxes of food and get picked up again. One man parked in front of us and processed to empty his trunk. He took out a baby stroller and a couple of other items while his passenger went inside. He went into the store and a few minutes later, emerged with a large box filled with dinners followed by his passenger with another large box. Then, an employee came out with another large box. This pretty much filled the trunk and off they went. They must have been on a food run for some very lucky people.

I have to go back to Charlotte next summer and I can hardly wait to go there again. Excuse me while I wipe the saliva from my lips.

Chinese New Year’s Dinner at Sun Luck

I am really late in getting this posted due to being out of town and then playing catch up when I returned. I must tell you all about this however, because it was so incredible. We were lucky enough to be included in an invitation to Sun Luck in Cleveland Heights for a special Chinese New Year’s Dinner on February 28. It included about 25 people with the common interest of love of good food, properly prepared.

Annie Chiu is the owner and chef at Sun Luck. She started the meal with a small presentation that included some of the meanings and reasons for Chinese New Year celebrations. She said that in Asia, it is often the only day that everyone will close down their businesses.
It is centered on food and family. New Year’s Eve is also known as tuan nien a day of “togetherness”. Homes are adorned with flowers and tangerines or oranges to bring luck and to serve as omens for a plentiful year. This year is the year of the tiger.

Annie explained that our meal would start out with simple dishes and progress to more complex and rich dishes. Here is the menu.

We started with simple crispy snacks in small dishes set upon long tables where we could sit and converse with other diners, both familiar and new faces.

Our first course was a winter melon soup which I couldn’t have because it had a scallop broth. I am allergic to scallops. Annie was kind enough to bring me their restaurant specialty, the Butternut Soup which has dumplings filled with curried butternut squash in a clear broth. It was lovely as usual and the other diners said the winter melon soup was very good.
Squash Wonton Soup

Winter Melon Soup

The appetizers to follow were Curried Beef Puffs which I found so good that I still can remember the smoothness of the lightly spiced beef encased in a small round of puff pastry. The turnip cake was one of the best I’ve had. It was a savory cake filled with Chinese sausage and shiitake mushroom.
Curried Beef Puff and Turnip Cake

Next came Egg Foo Yong.

Annie explained that while this is usually considered an American dish, she had been requested by the host to serve it. It was readily apparent why that was so. I usually avoid this dish in other Asian restaurants because it is normally served as a glutinous glob of gravy over a greasy egg and vegetable cake. Annie’s was in a crispy yet not greasy cake with a light gravy that was not overly thickened. The vegetables inside were still crispy. It was by far the best I have ever had and would love to have it again.

Next came the Mi Fun Noodles with Shrimp. It had a delicate sauce that teased the palate.

Now, the dishes were getting more complex in spice combinations and texture.
The next dish was the Spicy Eggplant. This was one of my favorites. It had just the right amount of spice to make it interesting.

It was accompanied by steamed white rice.

Next came the Ma Pou Tofu.

The seasoning on this one seemed toned down for the American palate. After adding some hot chile oil, the dish was much closer to the usual Asian seasoning and was quite good. Annie used a soft tofu which made it very creamy. It was lovely and our dining companions across the table from us were eager to make it at home.

The next dish was the Wild Boar with Pineapple and Vegetables.

The boar was a bit chewy with a slightly gamey flavor. It went nicely with the sweet pineapple.

Next was Annie’s Mussels. These were very large mussels done to a perfectly sweet tenderness with some spice added for balance.

The finale was a dessert of Fried Milk.

These balls of goodness were lightly crunchy on the outside with a soft, almost creamy center. Annie had added some coconut flavor to heighten the taste.

Peter and I had a lovely time seeing people we had met at last year’s Chinese New Year’s dinner and discovering new friends this year with whom we hope to keep in contact. It also a great opportunity to learn more about this wonderful Asian holiday.