Jude C. wrote: > Harold's must be one of the worst places to work anywhere. A little > humor probably goes a long way to lighten the load. Oh, the food is > *good*. Harold's Chicken Shack (all 50 or 60 of them) is a true Chicago classic. I've eaten Harold's more times than I care to think about (white half, hot and mild). The fried chicken is okay though a "wee bit" greasy. Biggest pieces of chicken I've seen in my life. It's best when doused with their thin vinegary hot sauce and nondescript mild BBQ sauce. Somehow this combination works. For me there will never be a smell more evocative of Chicago than a warm bag of Harold's with hot and mild. Every now and then I'll get on the el when someone's carrying some home. There's just no doubt about it. It's been a while since my last dose of Harold's but I remember a couple of hand-lettered signs in the store I used to go to (no longer there). One was "Liver and gizzard orders must be paid in advance." Must've been too many people that had second thoughts after ordering these. Another was "NO dogs/eating/bicycles." Presumably dogs were okay just so long as they weren't eating bicycles. I still have one of the old-style Harold's bags, complete with grease stain, carefully preserved in my desk drawer. One of these days I'll probably frame it.
Chicago, IL
Harold's Chicken Shack
Bigbite wrote: > Yes, it does matter. I'm looking for a good place to try Harold's Chicken. > Most of the places look filthy, from the outside anyway, and I thought you > might have found a better one. In my limited experience, by far the "nicest" Harold's is in Hyde Park's Kimbark Plaza, a small shopping center with a parking lot right in front. You still get your chicken served on a bulletproof plexiglass turntable but the place is moderately clean and is decorated with this folksy country-ish wallpaper (which really doesn't fit with the whole Harold's experience). There's even an eating area with about 10 formica booths but most people take out. They serve things like catfish tails and okra (everything is deep fried of course) but chicken is definitely the thing to get. I always got mine with hot sauce and BBQ sauce but I can understand why some people hate it that way (just like I can understand why some people hate Harold's altogether). If you want your sauce on the side they charge something like 50 cents for hot and 75 cents for mild, just to discourage that practice. If you go, be sure to check out their neon sign in the window. A guy wearing a crown (Harold, the fried chicken king) and holding a hatchet is chasing a chicken. When the sign is working properly the arm swings back and forth in a chopping motion and the chicken's wings flap. Classic neon art. It's been quite a while since I've been to Harold's. Honestly, I'm just not that big a fan of fried chicken in general. Might have to go back soon though, just for old times' sake. Harold's Chicken Shack #14B 1208 E 53rd St (between Woodlawn and Kimbark) Chicago 773-752-9270
I wonder if you are referring to the Harolds that was next to the Howard El. It did go out of busineess. However, there is a "Chicken Shack" on Ridge just north of Emerson across from the old Fresh Fields that is an outshoot of the old Harolds. Great gizzards and chicken. Cheers, Mike Harry C. wrote in message ... >Rene G. wrote: > >>Harold's Chicken Shack #14B >>1208 E 53rd St (between Woodlawn and Kimbark) >>Chicago >>773-752-9270 > >You're reminding me that I need to go down to Hyde Park, get my >chicken and then go to Jimmy's and wash it down with some beer. BTW, >their fried Okra is good. Just make sure the chicken is doing a back >stroke in the hot sauce. > >I remember awhile back when some UofC graduates who had gotten >addicted to Harold's in college opened a store in Evanston. As hard >core Harold's addicts, that store had great chicken. Alas, it was lost >to urban renewal.
Harry C. wrote: > You're reminding me that I need to go down to Hyde Park, get my > chicken and then go to Jimmy's and wash it down with some beer. You know, I was going to mention that. Of course Jimmy's and Harold's is an excellent combination. Jimmy's (aka Woodlawn Tap) is unquestionably one of the great bars in Chicago (in the "dive" category). The place celebrated its 50th anniversary this winter and Jimmy Wilson died shortly afterwards. Even though they serve food they don't mind if you bring your own in (actually I think the bartenders prefer it because it's less work for them). The draft beers are generally pretty terrible. I'd suggest a bottle of Old Style as the proper accompaniment for Harold's. Four or five would be even better. If you're familiar with Jimmy's you probably also know the Tiki, Hyde Park's 4AM bar. The Tiki is one of those pseudo-Polynesian places and is virtually unchanged since it opened in the '50s (?). Lots of bamboo and real pufferfish with lights inside hanging from the ceiling. Drinks served in fake coconuts. Peggy Lee on the jukebox. Tacky doesn't even begin to describe it. It's a wonderful place. I hadn't been to the Tiki for a while so it seemed like a good choice when recently looking for a bar after 2AM. I was stunned to find out that the Tiki now closes at 2. Is nothing sacred? Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap 1172 E 55th St (near Woodlawn) Ciral's House of Tiki 1612 E 53rd St (near Cornell)