Fried chicken in Manhattan is sort of an oddity in a way in that it’s not the norm that people usually eat here. That in itself is a truly sad point, however there are a couple of exceptional places that give fried chicken its justice in a multitude of ways, one of which happens to be Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, located in the Lower East Side and Hell’s Kitchen.
I was very hungry earlier on in the day today, and figured why not stop by Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken as I have heard rave reviews about it from my other friends and I had been there once before and was fairly impressed by what I had.
The Hell’s Kitchen location is a bit of a grab n go, but does having comfortable seating if you wish to stick around and enjoy some fried chicken options with your colleagues, friends or family. The sort of food that Blue Ribbon provides deserves to have a much more centralized location with a ton of foot traffic compared to the two they already have open, as I truly feel it would operate better because of that, but… that’s just my opinion.
The colors and fonts they use to showcase their menu and insides off reads very retro, something you would see in the 1950’s and 60’s but with a more modern take. Bold and bright colors like orange and blue definitely help build the excitement of what you are going to order, as Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken has endless options in terms of the fried chicken you can get.
I wanted to get my lunch game on properly, and seeing as sandwiches are usually a lunch time type of item, I went with that and was glad that I did so. Before I ordered the sandwich that gleefully went into my mouth, I noticed that you have a bunch of Fried Chicken options to order from in the combo menu that looked absolutely scrumptious.
This means: drumsticks, wings, light meat, dark meat, combo, you name it, they got it. Still, I was sandwich focused and went with an option that satisfied the sweet and savory side in the best way possible.
The Kerry’s Classic, which is pictured above, was stellar. It came with caramelized pineapple and the Blue Ribbon Special Sauce. There were pickles underneath the perfectly cooked piece of Fried Chicken, which balanced really well with the sweetness of said pineapple. The sauce also made for a very zesty bite, and the side of sweet potato fries was a great compliment to the sandwich itself.
I know people kind of hate on coleslaw, but there’s was pretty good. I would recommend a little more mayo to it (or whatever they used) as it dried out a bit, but made for a great side dish to my sandwich and fries.
They also get major kudos for using soda products from Boylan, as their Cane Cola had such a yummy sweetness to it that tasted much better than the basic fountain drinks I’ve had in the past.
Also, their selection of sauces to add to your sandwich, fries, or otherwise was superb. I wanted to steal one, but that would be against the law.
That being said, Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken definitely earned its medal of deliciousness from me as a great lunch spot to satisfy your midday cravings and then some. For more information, click here.