Boy do we love fried chicken at Newly Weds Foods! Last March, our Chefs John, Mark, and Eric took advantage of a business trip to New York City and explored some of the best that old New York had to offer. They ventured through Manhattan, The Lower East Side, Brooklyn, and Chelsea searching high and low for chicken lickin’ goodness in any form they could find including sandwiches, bone-in, tenders, and wings. Their time was well spent as they came away with a lot of great ideas and inspiration.
Some of the highlights included LOTS of Asian flavors and coatings; the chicken on a stick from Wilma Jean is definitely something not to be missed. Additionally the “Beak to Butt” combo platter at Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken featured chicken necks, backs, hearts, and gizzards while showcasing a fun new chicken chain with a sense of humor… and some pretty tasty chicken. Everyone really enjoyed Turntable Chicken’s Twice Fried Chicken Wings. They had a great crunch, and were seasoned perfectly.
Along their chicken eating journey, the chefs came across a few non-chicken items too, that are not to be missed when eating in NYC. The Pecan Pie Donuts at Pie n Thighs were at the top of Chef Erics’ list, while Chef Mark was won over by the simplicity and overall deliciousness of the Pizza Bianca with Fresh Ricotta at Co. Pizza. Other takeaways for the chefs included the validation of trends reflected in much of the product development work being conducted at Newly Weds Foods such as Elotes, Szechuan, and Korean BBQ. Some stand out examples of these trends include the Bulgogi Tacos from Yogi Korean BBQ Tacos and the Elotes Lobster Salad from Red Hook Lobster Pound. Both places took something trendy and added their own flair to make an even more exciting dish.