CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN

Finger Lickin’ & Fancy CFC

Christchurch's latest craze goes gourmet.

The Colonel’s got some hot competition in Christchurch where fried chicken has become classy kai.

The city boasts one of the best line-ups of gourmet fried chicken experiences with a generous catering to gluten and dairy free dietary needs, while also offering plenty of great vegetarian and vegan substitutes. And according to the fans it’s still finger lickin’ good.

Empire Chicken tenders.

Christchurch’s fried chicken following was gaining such a momentum recently that a story about the city’s best fried chicken offerings on the ChristchurchNZ website became a huge online hit.

Fans polled were extremely impressed with the brave innovations and how operators had gone all out to cater to specific dietary needs.

Fiddlesticks

Among the top picks was Evil Genius, where they ingeniously pair Indonesian marinade with Argentinian chimichurri dressing; Civil and Naval with their bottomless aioli and deep fried cauliflower; Seoul Sandwich where the fried chicken comes Korean style topped with spicy sriracha mayo in brioche buns, and for some fine dining flair, Fiddlesticks.

SmokeyTs

Smokey T’s serves it up slow cooked, with crunchy pickles and its own Original Sauce. The city’s Craft Embassy, Monster Chicken and Mexicano’s also get a top mention.

Monster Chicken

The poll discovered fried chicken had become gourmet with so many new, interesting and pleasantly surprising ways of serving up fried chicken, all a far cry from the fast food version.

In many cases it appeared that the gluten free version could even be tastier, or as tasty as its real gluten counterpart.

At Evil Genius they’ve used the gluten free flour intentionally to create a light crispy texture, while Fiddlesticks takes fried chicken to next level fine dining. The article was a breath of fresh air for those with special dietary needs who still liked to tuck into some fried chicken with a number of the restaurants featured going all out to accommodate gluten free options.

O.G.B

O.G.B. is among the top of its game here, using that ‘secret ingredient’ of chilli salt to create a blissful balance to its gluten free, tangy and savoury flavour.

CC Cornbread

The whole spirit of the ChristchurchNZ exercise was to showcase individuality in food and those who’ve been experimental, bold and ambitious with what is traditionally a fast food, says a ChristchurchNZ senior communications manager.

The Christchurch foodie scene has come a long way during the past five years with the likes of the Riverside Markets, also featuring in the top 10 for Empire Chicken, where it comes crisp and crunchy in compostable packaging.

“Fried chicken is a guilty pleasure for many Kiwis, but there’s an art to creating something that delivers on flavour whilst catering to all tastes,” says Restaurant Association NZ chief executive Marisa Bidois. “It’s great to see the variety of different options on offer in Christchurch.”

Pomeroys