Great Chicken Fried Steak (headed south)?
We're driving from Bellevue to Hood Canal tomorrow morning. Think we'd like to stop for breakfast on the way around the sound. My husband loves a good chicken fried steak. Any recommendations for a breakfast place along the way?
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re: kaleokahu
Kaleokahu, I finally had the opportunity to try the chicken fried steak at Jules Maes Tavern. It's the real deal. Made from scratch with excellent gravy and the best hash browns I've found in Puget Sound. To those Chowhounds wanting to avoid the Sysco dreck that is served everywhere else, Jules Maes should be your CFS destination. (Pretty good Bloody Mary's too.)
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Ehereal, May I suggest an alternative? The Big Catfish Breakfast at the Southern Kitchen in Tacoma. (Sixth & Division street so its not hard to get back onto Hwy 16.) Your order comes with a side of corn cakes and be sure to request the home fries with onions rather than hash browns. (You can also get grits on request.) Watch out for the coffee though, as it will alter your body chemistry for days.
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Southern Kitchen Restaurant
1716 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA 98405›3 Replies-
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re: Leper
We did in fact visit Southern Kitchen for breakfast. Probably the best fried chicken I've had. Yes, I had fried chicken for breakfast.
My husband had the chicken fried steak -- gravy was divine. My son's pancake was fine, but the corncake that came with my meal was delicious and he preferred that. His bacon was a little suspect (just didn't look like bacon...soft, torn apart, even a strange color). My mac-n-cheese side was great...clearly home made. The mashed potatoes, possibly not home made, but I still ate it all.
Didn't try the strawberry lemonade (looked like a liquid dessert) or the peach cobbler, as we had wanted. But just a reason to go back, right?
We beat the rush and were seated right away. But our meal still took a very long time...I think because of my chicken order. She warned it would take a little longer, but breakfast took a full 1.5 hours because of the time between ordering and receiving food.
In the end, I'd go back. The chicken was so well seasoned (didn't overwhelm the meat) and the batter was light and crispy. Yum~!
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Southern Kitchen Restaurant
1716 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA 98405
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Tom Armitage
Aug 19, 2011 02:12 PM
The problem with getting a great chicken-fried steak at a restaurant is that, as Leper pointed out in a Chowhound thread on “Best Chicken-Fried Steak in Seattle Area?” (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/726441) almost all chicken-fried steaks served at restaurants these days are purchased pre-made and frozen from either Sysco or FSA. The rare exceptions include Local 360 in Seattle, which I believe makes their own CFS with beef from Heritage Meats in Oregon. I’m not sure where on Hood Canal you’re headed, but unless you are headed only to the southern part (e.g., Hoodsport, Union, Belfair, etc.), my suggestion is to stop off at the Big Apple Diner in Bremerton (6720 Kitsap Way). It’s just a short way off of Highway 3 going north through Kitsap County. I once asked a waiter there whether they made their own chicken-fried steak. With rare candor, he said, “No, it comes from Sysco. But there are different grades of CFS sold by Sysco, and we buy the best quality.” And, at least in my experience, it’s better than a lot of the CFS you get at other places.
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Big Apple Diner
6720 Kitsap Way, Bremerton, WA 98312›1 Reply-
re: Tom Armitage
For what it's worth, Couzins on 85th in Kirkland and the Fall City Inn & Grill (I think that's what it's called) both make their own CFS, according to my husband. I believe Couzins uses prime rib. And I know the Fall City place's doesn't look like anything we get from most of the diners around here. Was hoping that Renton or Tacoma had a gem like these two where items truly do come from the kitchen/scratch.
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