It feels very much like Lucy's Fried Chicken is one of those trendy places that native Austinites love to hate. The impression is that the want to be dive is trying hard to feel like something other than what it is - overpriced and a bit pretentious.
It's funny how even a large menu can sometimes feel limiting. For example, the smallest order of fried chicken was a four piece basket for $9.50. This seemed a bit odd to me. What if I only want one or two pieces and a side? Since I was there with a small group, we each ordered something different and shared.
There are four things I must order if they are available. These are in order of importance; fresh squeezed limeade or lemonade, fried okra, queso flameado, and macaroni and cheese. Much to my delectation, Lucy's had three of these things!
The "fresh" squeezed lemonade was only a step above straight from the box minute maid. I'm assuming that it was not from a soda fountain only because I was told as much and want to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The fried chicken was mostly dark meat and incredibly greasy. Now granted, fried chicken should be greasy, otherwise it's just baked chicken and that's a whole other beast (well, same beast, different dish). This, however, made church's chicken look healthy. The pieces were small and didn't have much meat. I will say this though, the breading was pretty fantastic! I enjoyed the skin more than the actual meat, the very opposite of my usual take on this dish.
The mac n cheese was what made the meal. It was a good size portion of rich cheese and noodles topped with breadcrumbs. It easily made my top ten list for good macaroni, which it well should for $8.50.
We also shared an order of the corn bread muffins for $4.95. Call me crazy, but I like a traditional corn bread. It makes me happy. The inclusion of jalepanoes wouldn't have bothered me if it had been listed on the menu. I would also have enjoyed trying the tequila butter (just for kicks) but they forgot to bring it out with the basket, so we didn't bother to ask for it.
All in all Lucy's fried chicken felt over priced and underwhelming. Our server didn't have much of a sense of humor (something of a must to survive waiting tables) and the food wasn't exciting enough for the cost. I might be willing to give it another chance, if someone else is willing to paying.
No comments:
Post a Comment