Brine Chicken, located in the heart of Chelsea on 8th Avenue between 15th and 16th street, has coined a new phrase that matches perfectly with the type of food they are putting out: “Fast Fine Dining”.
What this incredible hotspot is able to do is blend some new and amazing technologies with some of the most delicious chicken and sides you could possibly imagine. Yes, those those two things really don’t go together, but in the hectic world of New York City living, turns out they actually do.
This new, chef-driven experience features cashless ordering done on high-tech yet simple-to-operate TRAY Kiosks (developed by MIT graduate and former Google Senior Engineer, Peter Kellis) which feature beautiful photos of each menu item. There’s the technology angle.
As for the chicken, the process in terms of what they present to you is more than just throwing a piece of meat on the grill and marinating it. They use top of the line American fire-grilled, antibiotic-free chicken that is brined for 24 hours using a very special recipe. This overall concept was developed by entrepreneur Dan Mezzalingua and Executive Chef Joe LoNigro, who’s also the founding chef partner at Otto’s Tacos. And the results are finger licking freaking good.
I stopped by Brine Chicken shortly after it opened last week with a friend, and was quite pleased with myself for not eating earlier in the day as I really wanted to enjoy what they had to offer in all of my hunger glory (not sure if that is a term, but it is now).
The chicken options are broken down into three parts: thigh quarter, half chicken or a sandwich. All of them work in many different ways. The sauce on the thigh and half chicken is something I’ve never tasted before. It has a tang to it that I really enjoyed that blended well with the perfectly cooked piece of chicken.
The sandwich was the best, in my opinion, as it was on a butter grilled brioche with blackened chili honey-garlic sauce pulled chicken, grilled coleslaw, black pepper aioli. But there’s so much more.
The Brown Sugar and Lemon Carrots are by far the best carrots I’ve ever had in my life. WHAT A COMBINATION! So unbelievably good that I would have those to eat every single day of my life. Awesome side choice for any of the chicken options. They also have some stellar other choices including Marinated Tomatoes and Hearts of Palm as well as Charred Broccoli and White Balsamic Farro.
If you are jonesing for a salad, their Greek Village and Honey Roasted Garlic Caesar will pack the flavor without the added calories. They also have a great sauce bar with a bevy of options that you can use for your sides or mains. Overall, Brine Chicken excelled in taste, execution and more, and is one place that this writer is severely looking forward to going back to.
For more information on Brine Chicken, please check out their official website.