Eat it, Chicago!

They’ve really fixed up Navy Pier. If you’re a Chicagoan, I realize that you probably avoid the place like the plague – ugh, the tourists^[1] – but you owe it to yourself to get down there and see what our mayor (yes, he may be a profane, hyperactive, attack dog^[2], but he’s our profane, hyperactive, attack dog) has done with Chicago’s tax dollars. It really is pretty nice. And if you can’t believe I’m sending you to Navy Pier, then this next bit is going to really confuse you: while you’re there, have lunch or dinner at Big City Chicken. The second-to-last thing I’d expect at Navy Pier would be good food, and the last thing I’d expect is that it’d be really good fried chicken.

But there you have it: Big City Chicken – one of three Lettuce Entertain You^[3] restaurants on the pier – sells really good fried chicken and has been doing so for about a year now. The chicken, which is absolutely gorgeous, is served up no-frills in a paper-lined plastic basket. The skin is the crispest I’ve had. The crispy skin is better-matched to the richness of the dark meat, but I’m not complaining about the white. They have a remarkably tight menu (and an equally streamlined website). A (soft-serve) root beer float makes a nice dessert.

Big City serves “fast” food, but unlike other chicken joints in that category, the chicken’s not already cooked and waiting to be purchased. They cook to order, so you have to plan on waiting maybe 10 minutes. If that’s too long for you to wait, waltz your ass down to the MacDonald’s in the food court, and good riddance.

What I Had:

Fried Chicken, 3-piece: the first time I ate here, I had the original. Second time, the spicy. Honestly, I had a hard time telling them apart. I’m not sure if my spicy didn’t get a lot of spice, or if what they call “spicy” is incredibly mild. However, I nonetheless enjoyed the chicken thoroughly. It’s crispy, hot, perfectly done. Nice, big fat pieces. It’s straightforward chicken; don’t expect herbs and spices. It’s fried in soybean oil, so it’s very clean, pure, simple chicken. I could imagine that being a disappointment to some. In that case, you might explore the optional dipping sauces (which I did not try). Although they don’t advertise it, you can order dark, white, or a combination. Over the course of two trips, I had all the parts and liked them. $8.49

Cheese Fries: I’m not a cheese-fries fan, so I can’t review them for you. I ordered them only to confirm my disdain for them and because you need something to eat while you wait for your piping hot chicken to come to a safe-to-handle temperature. $3.99

Float: first time I had the root beer, second time the creamy orange. Rather large but very simple: a tall cup full of soft-serve, with a fountain drink poured over it. Enjoyable carny fare. You have to remember that Navy Pier is essentially a permanent carnival. You have to keep you food expectations in that context. Big City Chicken is better than any restaurant near a Ferris wheel has a right to be. $4.99

The Verdict:

It’s not high art, like Big Jones. It’s not fetishized, like it is at Honey Butter. It’s really good fried chicken worth fighting your way past dawdling families for. (4 / 5)

Notes:

1. I have nothing against tourists, really. But let’s face it: griping about tourists is among the most cherished urbanite pastimes. If they would finish the fly-over bicycle bypass, my troubles would be over. The lakeshore trail – my bicycle superhighway route to and from work – will one day soon no longer intersect with the herds of tourists la-de-dah-ing their way from Streeterville out onto the pier. Then I’ll go  back to loving tourists.
2. Just for the record, I think the Honorable Rham is downright adorable, and I have it on good word that we have identical tastes in coffee shops. Yeah, he’s also a pitbull. Who do you think is going to run the only US city with gun-share stations at every bus stop? Mary Poppins?
3. For you non-Chicagoans, I mention Lettuce Entertain You because they own some of the most popular restaurants in the city (as well as some in Vegas and DC). Chicago has so many restaurants, that none of us can ever know them all. Deciding on a restaurant is always a lengthy process among Chicagoans, because inevitably, someone will recommend some new place that’s unknown to the rest of the group, and if that place is a Lettuce Entertain You establishment, the endorsement is always considered powerfully positive. Big City Chicken shares a counter with the other two LEYE restaurants at the pier.

Big City Chicken

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