Harold's Chicken & Fish

After my trip to Savannah I developed a hankering for fried chicken. Maybe I'm one of the last Americans to do so, but even a health conscious animal lover can't deny the beauty of a crispy, juicy piece of deep-fried bird.

I won't say Harold's chicken can match that of Mrs. Wilkes, but for an operation in Vegas it deserves credit. Harold's is actually a small chain out of the hot dog capital, Chicago, so the success of this chicken shack is noteworthy. I had the 1/4 chicken white meat dinner that included a bone-in breast, wing (I know, that's not white meat), original sauce, crappy fries and a good coleslaw on top of two slices of white, grease-soaking sandwich bread ($5.72). Ian had the dark meat version ($5.23).

Harold's doesn't make anything until you order, so the chicken comes out at a temperature you can't consume immediately without burning your tongue and every other part of your mouth that has the misfortune of making contact with the meat (trust me on this one). The breast was great, but the wing and fries were unnecessary. Next time I will just order the chicken a la carte and get a side of coleslaw and sauce.

I took two desserts to go. One was banana pudding that was made with artificially flavored banana pudding mix and had no actual bananas. I've been spoiled by Mamma Ginny's (Ian's grandma) perfect banana pudding so I would give this version a failing grade. The lemon pound cake was better, though nothing to write home about. I'm sad to report that both of these desserts were brought in by a local baker. Oh well, I guess it's clear the only reason to come here is for the chicken (and maybe the fish, I'll let you know next time).

Harold's Chicken and Fish

4950 S. Rainbow

222-3378

Today's Food Ratings:

Chicken: 9

Fries: 5

Coleslaw: 8

Would I come back? I THINK I'M OVER FRIED CHICKEN FOR THE TIME BEING, BUT NEXT TIME I'M CRAVING IT AND DON'T WANT TO PAY BOUCHON PRICES, I WILL COME BACK FOR SURE.