Chicken not so little: the international way with chicken drives bar food - Currents

Cheers, March, 2004 by Jack Robertiello

Small plate items and international culinary influences are changing American restaurant dining patterns in many ways, but these and other trends aren't altering the power of chicken to entice customers.

Chicken wings, chicken tenders, blackened chicken mini-sandwiches. Chicken quesadilla, chicken tacos, chicken satay, chicken in lettuce leaves--they've all become essentials on the American appetizer menu.

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In some parts of the country, tapas menus are driving the growth in chicken appetizers; in others, it's the never-ending quest for great food to go with those house-brewed hoppy ales or crisp lagers.

Some industry reports indicate chicken makes up more than 15% of appetizer selections on chain restaurant menus. Chicken wings, along with the variety of breaded and fried breast portions (tenders, fingers and nuggets) seem to be most popular, but creative applications of shredded chicken, especially as check-inflating add-ons to quesadillas, potato skins and pizzas, also are gaining traction.

Feeding on the growth of after work drinking and nibbling, chicken appetizers are gaining strength based on contemporary Mexican and Asian recipes.

Even in restaurants with traditional menus, the sway of contemporary chicken appetizers is obvious. At Boston's Tiernan's Restaurant and Pub, an Irish spot if ever there was one, entree classics lean toward liver with bacon and onions and shepherd's pie, but on the appetizer side, quesadilla with shredded marinated chicken, tomatoes, onions, peppers and cheese served with sour cream and salsa makes the list.

CHICAGO CHICKEN?

At the growing 16-unit Bar Louie chain, part of RDG Group Chicago, chicken fingers with honey mustard, chicken tenders with chipotle mayo and Caesar dressing, and nachos with chicken stand out on the apps menu. Louie's neighborhood bar approach is designed around bar and grill favorites.

At another RDG multi-unit operation, Red Star Tavern (eight stores and counting), fire cracker chicken wings with blue cheese dipping sauce, grilled habanero chicken quesadilla and roasted chicken nachos lead the apps list. These items also make the menus at some of the company's other concepts, like the Twisted Fork Kitchen and Bar in Houston and the South City Grill in Mt Lebanon, PA.

Smoked chicken quesadillas are popular at the MatrixFillmore, an ultra cool San Francisco lounge part of the PlumpJack Group of restaurants. And at La Hacienda, Scottsdale, AZ, highly ranked locally for high-end Mexican food, a sophisticated appetizer of ancho chile stuffed with chicken, nuts and dried fruit rises above the expected Mexican chicken expectations.

At Molly Woo's, an Asian themed restaurant owned by Cameron Mitchell restaurants, starters include spicy minced chicken in lettuce cups. In the five unit Iron Hill brewery and restaurant (suburban Philadelphia and near-by Delaware), Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps (marinated chicken, rice noodles, bean sprouts, green onion, grated carrot, roasted peanuts, bibb lettuce and sweet and sour dipping sauce) is a leading chicken app, as are Tex-Mex Egg Rolls (grilled chicken, black beans, corn, bell peppers, cheddar cheese and avocado cream).

In the North Beach neighborhood of SF, the Sake Lab features, along with sushi and a lounge filled with cocktailers, shredded chicken tossed in mint and rolled in lettuce leaves.

Perhaps Chili's sets the chicken apps standard. In addition to Boneless Shanghai Wings (breaded chicken breast tossed in ginger-citrus sauce, topped with sesame seeds, served with wasabi-ranch dressing) and Buffalo Wings, the chain features the Triple Play, a combo of their three favorite starters: Chicken Crispers, Boneless Buffalo Wings (breaded chicken breast tossed in spicy wing sauce w/bleu cheese dressing) and Southwestern Eggrolls (smoked chicken, black beans, corn, red peppers, spinach and jalapeno Jack cheese wrapped in crispy flour tortillas.)