If finding the tastiest fried chicken is on your bucket list, you might have to forget the bucket. Instead, get a taste of a new South Florida restaurant that’s a real "spring chicken."
Spring has sprung in South Florida. The folks who brought SoFlo hits like Yardbird, Swine and Lime have hatched Spring Chicken in Coral Gables.
John Kunkel, Spring Chicken: "Spring Chicken is the casual offering of some of the greatest hits we do at Yardbird and Swine, and we are doing all-new healthy versions of what we do there as well."
The name fits ’cause, by definition, a spring chicken is a young bird.
John Kunkel: "Spring Chicken is a young, hip version of what we’ve been doing. I just fell in love with the name."
Thank Grandma, ’cause she’s the reason people are flocking to the restaurants.
John Kunkel: "This restaurant, as is Yardbird, is very special, near and dear to me because it’s a lot of family recipes. Our fried chicken, our award winning fried chicken, is my grandmother’s recipe."
The chicken is brined for 27 hours and hand-tossed in flour before it takes a dip in a specialized fryer.
John Kunkel: "Start to finish, it’s literally over a day. So by the time it gets to your table, someone has been taking care of that bird all along the way, and that’s why it tastes so delicious."
This is plate-licking good.
Tyler Strauss: "I’m from the North, and I’ve had a little bit of fried chicken here and there, and this is absolutely better than anything I have ever had."
You can get your bird in a bucket or go for the blue plate special.
John Kunkel: "You can choose the pieces of chicken you want, you can have this wonderful spice watermelon and some waffle fries, and you have a complete meal for under $10."
And shake things up by ordering a shake or sides.
Tyler Strauss: "It’s absolutely phenomenal."
From the spice watermelon salad, to the potlicker greens, to the fresh-from-the-oven biscuits, the sides are good enough to be a meal.
John Kunkel: "Our biscuit recipe actually began at Yardbird. I’ll give you a secret: There’s a lot of butter in those biscuits."
Spring Chicken is Southern-inspired: fast, casual and delish.
Clay Wyda: "Probably the best sandwich I have had for a while, definitely down here. "
John Kunkel: "For $6, $7, you can get a great sandwich or a salad. It’s very casual fare, but just done right, made from scratch and great ingredients."
FOR MORE INFO:
Spring Chicken
1514 S. Dixie Hwy.
Coral Gables, FL 33146
eatspringchicken.com