Harold's Chicken

3 piece with mild sauce!!! AMAZING

We first spotted this place a few night ago when heading to Hyde Park Produce for a few grocery items. I saw the sign advertising fried chicken, fish & tacos. I was intrigued and thought it was a joke - until I read the Yelp! reviews on this place and decided that we *must* try this place while we were in town.

I am from Louisiana - the land of "Popeye's Famous Fried Chicken" and no one has ever been able to beat Popeye's when it comes to fried chicken. It was a tradition every Friday night in our house to have fried chicken from Popeyes for dinner.

That being said, I found Harold's chicken to be very close to Popeye's in quality and taste. It was freshly fried and delicious! It would've surpassed Popeye's if they were to spice up the batter and/or chicken a bit before frying it. Instead, they offer their "hot sauce" to notch up the flavor a bit.

Their fries were typical frozen fries, the sponge white bread that accompanies the chicken and fries is your typical spongy white sandwich bread - nothing to call home about. We also splurged and ordered onion rings, which were yummy, but definitely pre-frozen from a bag and nothing special.

I found the whole ordering/chicken procuring experience to be memorable. The bullet proof glass is hilarious as is the little enclosed lazy susan that they distribute the food to you through. It also humors me that there are soda machines instead of having fountain drinks available. The whole place is just full of personality and unique "charm" (for lack of a better term). If you're in the area, give it a try! I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Oh, and if you see "Cat bucket" on the menu, don't freak out and think it's fried feline, it's really just a bucket of fried catfish. I was mildly horrified when I first saw it on the menu and then I came to my senses and realized what their abbreviation meant :)

Quarter white with mild sauce. Takes awhile because they don't already have it pre-cooked like Popeyes and KFC. Skin was so nice and crispy, but the white meat was so juicy. The sauce is addicting...nice and tangy. The ladies there were also very nice and accommodating.