Let this be the first and last time I attach my name to this sentence: The chicken breast is not boring.
Because the vaunted chicken breast, buoyed by the health-conscious as a sensible protein, has traditionally been void of taste and acknowledged as a meat of last resort. (We all know the chicken thigh is the superior cut.) But the new West Loop-via-London Chicken Shop — inside the beautiful-people-infested Soho House Chicago — proves to be an exception. In fact, I prefer the white meat pieces here over the dark.
The chickens, from Pine Manor Farms in Indiana, are roasted over flames ($15 for half), though the wet, paprika-heavy marinade renders the skin charred but pliable, not one notion of crispness to it. That’s OK, because the breast pieces are plump, the interior meat coursing with chicken juices — chef Devon Boyce tells me the chickens are steamed, chilled, then cooked over wood fire to retain that moisture.
The Smokey Sauce on the table is a vinegary ketchup hybrid with some notion of chutney, so that sweet sensibility of Britain asserts itself. On the sides: crinkly stubs of fries ($5), a crunchy and mayo-intense cole slaw ($6), plus a worthy baked mac and cheese ($6) that doesn’t skimp on its cheesiness.
Chicken Shop
113-125 N. Green St.
312-754-6941
chickenshop.com/chicago
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