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Melanie Wong
Oct 3, 2012 01:27 AM
Looking for alternatives to Stroud's for fried chicken. Reviving this thread to find out if these spots are still recommended and to hopefully surface some additional options.
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amyzan
Jul 3, 2011 09:50 AM
I just saw something in the Pitch about the Vietnamese restaurant, The Orient, in Lawrence making fried chicken now. It's apparently very popular on Sundays, and she even serves traditional sides like mashed potatoes, though you have to wait twenty minutes for your chicken order to cook. I'd been to the restaurant's former location (next door on Mass St.) and noticed the restaurant location had a new name. I was wondering whether she'd closed or moved, and where, and it looks from the article in Pitch that she just moved next door two years ago! I didn't even notice, so am so glad I read that. Even though I don't eat often in Lawrence, it's good to know where one can get good fried chicken AND Vietnamese food!
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re: amyzan
I'm not a fan of The Orient's "Vietnamese" menu. I think it is way too Americanized, and rather expensive. However the reviews I've seen for the Oh Boy chicken made me curious, so I ventured there for lunch today.
The chicken was fantastic. The seasoned rice flour gave the skin a light, slightly salty crunch. It was very similar to tempura. The chicken itself was very juicy and flavorful. I'd put it up with the best fried chicken of my life. better than Stroud's for sure.
The mashed potatoes were homemade but disappointing. Flavorless gravy formed a skin over the potatoes and was dried to the sides of the bowl it was served in. The vinegar-based coleslaw was fantastic though. The menu says it is sweet, but I found it to be pleasantly spicy, like a mild Korean cabbage salad. It was crisp and not at all wilted.
My biggest problem was the cost. Three pieces of chicken (the smallest portion size), two sides, and a drink cost more than $13. With tip my lunch was $16. I will return, but only when I am especially craving the amazing fried chicken.
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re: 2roadsdiverge
amyzan
Jul 18, 2011 04:19 PM
Thanks for the report! Yeah, I hadn't eaten at the Orient for years since I first moved to this area, because it just didn't hold a candle to Vietnamese I'd eaten in Durham, NC and on the west coast. I love the flavor and texture profile of Vietnamese, maybe because I grew up eating that classic southern combo of salty/sweet, crunchy/gooey, etc. except that Vietnamese is lighter and sits less heavily. Anyway, I digress...but I try to keep negative reviews to myself if I haven't tried a place recently, or at least in the last year or so.
I'm finding that food in Lawrence is getting more expensive, and on a scale even greater than KC and the Joco suburbs, for instance, where I mostly eat out. Is that your observation, too? I wonder if it has something to do with being a college town...
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re: amyzan
I don't eat out much in Lawrence -- even though I work there, I usually bring my lunch and eat when I get home to Kansas City. Nevertheless, I do think that Lawrence tends to be rather pricy. Of course there are cheap eats for college students (Burrito King!), but decent places seem to be on the higher end than KC
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re: amyzan
What an interesting idea - fried chicken at a Vietnamese restaurant! Also interesting that it was so tasty. Afraid I couldn't ignore bad cream gravy with my chicken, tho. As for the price - is that not still cheaper than Stroud's? To me their chicken prices have gotten way out of line.
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re: GiGiWy
The family that owns the Vietnamese restaurant also owns a seafood place next door and a vegetarian restaurant around the corner. The chicken is basically a separate company -- they have a carry-out window along the street -- but you can also sit-down and order it inside the Vietnamese restaurant. So it isn't *so* crazy :)
The gravy might have been OK. I think they had simply dished up the potatoes and gravy and let the dish sit. I might go back for the chicken fried steak with gravy to see.
As far as cost, yes Stroud's is more expensive (the three-piece meal is $14.50 before drink). However their chicken meal seems to have WAY more food than I can eat, and I always take home leftovers. When I left The Orient I was satisfied but not stuffed. But I agree that Stroud's has gotten out of hand.
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re: amyzan
Interesting that you should associate a college town with more expensive food. I would have thought just the opposite. If the largest proportion of people eating out are college students, most of them (students from Prarie Village, and Mission Hills notwithstanding) are not going to have the same disposable income as young professional families. Maybe really Lawrence is just a suburb of KC and getting more and more well heeled professionals there. Then again my experience with Lawrence was when George Bush Sr was president.. Prime Tasse was teaching people what a latte was, Paradise Cafe was still in existance and the folks who started the Free State Brewery were still lobbying the state leigslature to abolish prohibition.
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re: cwdonald
amyzan
Aug 4, 2011 11:10 AM
"Interesting that you should associate a college town with more expensive food. I would have thought just the opposite."
That was pretty much my point. I grew up in a college town, and there were very few expensive/fine dining restaurants. But, I think that who state colleges serve is changing somewhat, as higher education becomes more expensive and the middle class disappears, which is pretty much where I was going with that, if you'd like clarification.
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re: cwdonald
"Maybe really Lawrence is just a suburb of KC and getting more and more well heeled professionals there"
This is pretty much the case. Things in Lawrence are getting expensive and crowded. Traffic is abysmal, and there is no longer any difference between the summers and the rest of the year. It just isn't a "college town" any more. I lived in Lawrence for 25 years. I went to college there, got a job there, went to grad school there. Two years ago I moved to Kansas City to get away from Lawrence.
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I have eaten at all K.C. fried chicken joints through the years, starting back with Bootes and Coates, (for you older chicken eaters). I think Peachtree Buffet has, hands down, the best chicken now. It's fresh, crispy, well seasoned beyond just salt and pepper, not greasy and you can pick your pieces! The other food is delicious as well; mac and cheese, greens, baked chicken, smothered pork chops, peach cobbler and bread pudding and on and on...... too bad their other restaurants have closed, but I always have like this original place best.
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Peachtree Restaurant
31 E 14th St, Kansas City, MO 64106›3 Replies-
re: geonurse
Another good idea, thank you (tho' I'm not too fond of buffets, nor is my sister, who would be accompanying me). And yes, I am old enough to remember Bootes and Coates! I knew the Peachtree in the P&L District closed (never shoulda' moved from where they were!); did the one in Lee's Summit close, too?
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stellamystar
May 22, 2011 02:22 PM
Not in a gourmet category, but Niecies (now on troost St.) is quite casual and has fried chicken dinners (or meat loaf or pig ears for that matter). Service is so good.
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Niecie's Restaurant
8686 E 63rd St, Kansas City, MO 64133›1 Reply -
wekick
Apr 26, 2011 02:30 PM
RC's in Martin City has pretty good chicken and home style cooking.
Don't make the mistake I did though. I ordered the senior chicken plate(as the age requirement was quite low ;-) ) and when they brought the food it was a plate auction and the server yelled out "Who has a senior breast?" I put my hand up and everybody had a good laugh. The server didn't bat an eye.›4 Replies-
re: wekick
stellamystar
May 22, 2011 02:24 PM
Senior breast! Very funny. Señor breast, perhaps? Ha.
Anyway, plate auctions stress everyone out - diners and staff included
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