Food enthusiasts in Dallas love to argue about who makes the best fried chicken. Currently the hottest debate is Babe’s Chicken Dinner House versus Bubba Cooks Country. Spoiler alert: both places are owned by Mary Beth and Paul Vinyard, and they use the same recipe.
For nearly a decade, East Dallas relied on Brother’s Fried Chicken, until it closed in November 2008. Now they depend on Chicken House, a new group of owners who took over the Brother’s location and claim to use the same ingredients and cooking method. Not much has changed. There is still no place to sit and eat, and it is impossible to hear through the screechy, worn-out speaker in the drive-through.
Recently I treated my office mates to a free lunch, and I braved potential hearing loss to order a 10-piece family pack dinner, sides of okra and cole slaw, and a fried pie. The chicken pieces were huge, and the crust was crunchy and crispy. (No extra salt was needed. I drizzled jalapeño juice on mine.) The cole slaw was disappointing; there was way too much mayonnaise. By the time I got the food back to the office, the fries had gone soft and mushy. The fried okra was State Fair quality—nothing but squishy little balls of probably frozen okra. Next time, I’ll pick up the chicken and make my own sides.
Get contact information for Chicken House.
