NOTICED: By the Bucket
Fried Chicken in a pail is everywhere.
That fried chicken has become something of a culinary starlet is nothing all that new. Since Dave Chang zhuzhed up the humble breast and turned it into the poultry equivalent of a dance rave at Fuku, and COQODAQ hijacked the pedestrian KFC bucket, pairing it with caviar and TikTokers, the fried bird has become something of a sensation; poultry’s Pedro Pascal if you will.
The fried bird even has its own new restaurant - Matt Diaz’s Disco Birdies, which exclusively serves champagne with its magnificent platters of fried chicken and fries. (He’s also topping fries with scoops of vanilla ice cream served with champagne by the glass, which sounds like a very good stoner meal.)
Lately though, I’ve noticed a lot more chefs leaning into birds by the bucket, bringing a sunmer picnic vibe to some pretty impressive dining rooms.
At the Bar Room at The Modern, the two-star MICHELIN in MOMA, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Executive Chef Thomas Allan is deeply committed to fun – he does caviar on hot dogs and a new Bar Room special called Buckets and Bubbles.
Every bucket (decorated with the cutest little hand-drawn chicken) is piled high with pieces of delicately fried legs, breasts and thighs, crispy hand cut fries and a side of dreamy dill sauce. The bucket of chicken is priced according to champagne you buy it with – ranging from a glass of Billecart-Salmon Rosé ($58 a glass) to a bottle of Louis Roederer Starck 2015 ($225) or somewhere in between like the Domaine Carneros Ultra Brut 2020 ($95). Let me say this: there is nothing better to lift your spirits than a bucket and bubbles for lunch; trust me, I speak from experience.
Now, over at Gus’s in Brooklyn (215 Union Street) on Thursday nights, chef Chris McDade is also doing fried chicken by the bucket. His buckets ($72, serves 2) are stocked with 10 pieces of fried chicken and come with homemade buttermilk biscuits and slaw.
Because it’s Chris, you can get it in the chicken doused in his signature hot chicken rub (he's the originator of the Hot Chicken Milanese at Popina so if you liked that you will LOVE this), or with his classic Old Bay recipe brightened up with lemon. If you want, add a bottle of champagne for $50 or have a glass of the peach whiskey punch from Sother Teague.
Chris says it’s a special that serves two, but when I shared the details of this Thursday night special with my son Sam, he said that’s serves one. So you do you. I’ll see you there!