"Food Wars" hosts Harry Kersh and Joe Avella travel across New Orleans to find the best fried chicken in the city. They'll be visiting three locations in just one day to see what the city has to offer. This is "Food Tours."
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00:00I'm taking you to some of the best fried chicken spots in New Orleans.
00:04So excited for this episode, man. I love fried chicken.
00:06They got that in the UK?
00:07We do, yeah. It's very different. Not as widespread.
00:10We have, you know, KFC.
00:12We recently got Popeyes, which was exciting for us.
00:14I know that's a Louisiana thing, right?
00:16Yeah! We're at the ground zero of the Popeyes franchise.
00:19We will not be visiting Popeyes today.
00:20We're starting today at Picnic Provisions & Whiskey.
00:24They have fried chicken here.
00:25They have provisions and they have whiskey.
00:28Is it too early to start to have a whiskey?
00:30We're in New Orleans, so I don't think it's ever too early to start drinking.
00:33If you want to get whiskey, then I can join you.
00:34Yeah, I mean, hey, if it's on the sign, we have to get what they offer.
00:38Here's the three things we've got to be thinking about.
00:40Okay, first of all, crispiness. The skin, I want nothing soggy.
00:43Number two, juiciness, right?
00:45And then, of course, flavor. It's got to taste good.
00:48No, it has to taste great.
00:50And I'm starving, and I think I should put in the order right now.
00:53Yeah, let's go eat.
00:58All right, guys.
00:59Oh, heck, yeah.
01:00We've got a two-piece thigh plate, crawfish foil.
01:02We've got our picnic pepper pulp, which is like a dry hot sauce rub.
01:06Crystal hot sauce, they drain the barrels and they scrape all that stuff out and they send it to us.
01:10It's delicious.
01:11You've got a lemony miso mayo, some potato salad with zaps, chips, and bacon on top,
01:16your biscuit, and then our coleslaw with a sugar cane vinaigrette.
01:21With that stuff, do we spread it onto the chicken?
01:23Some people sprinkle it on top.
01:24A lot of people will dip it into your mayo and then dip it into the pulp.
01:28I'll try that.
01:29We use it in a whole bunch of ways, but any way you use hot sauce, we'll use it.
01:33Fantastic, thank you.
01:34I'll be right back with some plates, okay?
01:35I'm super excited about this.
01:36We'll take this piece.
01:38Just going to rip a piece.
01:40You're just ripping?
01:41I just ripped.
01:42Ripping and dipping.
01:43Going to do a dip.
01:44I'll do the same.
01:45I like that you kind of pick up the little crumbs on that.
01:53Unbelievable.
01:54Unreal, right?
01:55Mm-hmm.
01:56The fried chicken here is known as their seafood boil fried chicken.
02:00I realize that sounds confusing.
02:02Let me explain.
02:03They did not boil the chicken, and there's no seafood involved.
02:05They use the spices that you would normally find in a seafood boil,
02:08and they added it to the chicken, those blends of spices,
02:12so it has those flavors in the fried chicken.
02:14Make sense?
02:15Yeah, that does make sense.
02:16What goes into a seafood boil?
02:17I know like maybe Old Bay.
02:19That's kind of all I know about seafood boils.
02:22I don't know.
02:23It's a dietary blend.
02:24They're not going to tell us what's in it,
02:25but with certainty, it's not just Old Bay.
02:27Just Old Bay.
02:28They're back there pulling the labels off of the cans of Old Bay.
02:31Just shopping it out.
02:33Okay, crispiness, absolutely crispy.
02:36Yeah, you get the crisp.
02:37And the chicken is incredibly moist on the inside.
02:40Mm-hmm.
02:41There's a real skill, particularly with a piece of chicken
02:43that's kind of thin like this actually, often on a flat inside,
02:47to not dry it out when you cook it,
02:49and they've absolutely nailed it.
02:50Crispy on the outside, like you say, so juicy on the inside.
02:54That hot sauce is interesting.
02:55I quite like it, you know.
02:56This set up here, totally nailed it.
02:58Even though the hot sauce is good,
02:59there's definitely heat in this as well.
03:01Yeah.
03:01The batter has definitely got some spice to it.
03:03I want to try this potato salad.
03:06They broke in some zapped chips.
03:08The chips in there kind of give it like a nice crunchiness.
03:10That's fantastic.
03:11Right?
03:12Has a little saltiness to it, but it's creamy, smooth, incredible flavor.
03:18Oh, that's good.
03:19To cool off with something like this that's creamy and thicker, I love it.
03:22100%.
03:23I'm also intrigued by this.
03:25Chicken and biscuits, southern thing, right?
03:27These are the biscuits.
03:28These are the things that you guys in the comments are saying,
03:30yeah, it's a scone.
03:31It's not a scone.
03:32Visually, it looks a lot like a scone.
03:33Less so when you open it up.
03:34Visually, from a distance, yes.
03:38Delicious, right?
03:41To be eating like this every day, buddy.
03:44I'm a happy bunny right now, Joe.
03:45Sugar cane slaw.
03:47I've never had this.
03:48No, me neither.
03:49I'm seeing a lot of like coriander on there.
03:50Cilantro, sorry.
03:52Incredible slaw.
03:53Oh, wow.
03:54Incredible slaw, dude.
03:56So fresh.
03:58Obviously, it's a fried chicken episode, but cannot stress enough.
04:01If you're getting all the sides that this place has to offer,
04:04it is pairing perfectly with their incredible fried chicken that I absolutely love.
04:08Crispy, they got it.
04:10Juicy, definitely got it.
04:11Flavorful, hell yeah.
04:13So, you can see what I took here.
04:15Yeah, it's checking all the boxes.
04:16I will say, like, obviously, we're sharing this plate.
04:18Yeah.
04:19It doesn't feel too heavy for a fried chicken meal.
04:22No.
04:22I could quite easily have put away both these pieces of chicken and all of this.
04:26I don't think it would have, like, knocked me out.
04:28I think I would have been able to go about my day afterwards.
04:30Yeah, I like the vibe of the environment here.
04:32It's like a neighborhood spa.
04:33You could pop in a couple days a week.
04:34I mean, they really have a great selection, not only food, but drinks as well.
04:37So, you get provisions here in case you want to get some bubble tape.
04:40What I think is interesting about this is the three creators of this,
04:44two of them came from the Commander's Palace,
04:45which is considered one of the best restaurants in the country.
04:48It's been around for a very long time.
04:49High, fine dining.
04:51Difficult to get a reservation.
04:53They're cooking some of the best food in the world.
04:55Mega famous.
04:56And we had some people from there,
04:57and Daryl Reginale of Reginale's Pizza came together
05:00to make this amazing establishment.
05:03It just has this feeling of, like, yeah, I could pop in here,
05:06get some incredible fried chicken, amazing sides,
05:08meet up with friends.
05:09It doesn't have any, like, pretension to it.
05:11So, you don't think you'll find fried chicken on the menu at, like, a Commander's Palace.
05:14Is it a bit more fancy in general?
05:15They might.
05:16I mean, I'm not saying they don't.
05:17But it's definitely not a place you're like,
05:19yo, let's pop into the Commander's Palace and get a bite to eat
05:22before we head out on Bourbon Street.
05:24It definitely is an event place to eat.
05:26More of a chill vibe in here, for sure.
05:28This was fantastic.
05:29Really good.
05:30Obviously, you could stay here and demolish this plate,
05:31but we have two more spots to go to, and we're going to head out right now.
05:34We pretty much did demolish this plate, but yeah, let's go.
05:37Now, Harry, I don't know if you're aware of this,
05:39but the actual technique of frying chicken in oil
05:44came to America from Scottish immigrants.
05:48Hey, there you go.
05:49So, looks like the actual technique of frying chicken in oil, Scottish.
05:54You're welcome, man.
05:55The U.K. holding it down.
05:56Who'd have thought?
05:57Not so fast.
05:58But it was the African immigrants that did something really exceptional,
06:03which was add flavor and spices to the meat.
06:07Sure.
06:08So, yeah, you might have read the frying technique over here,
06:10but it was another culture that was like,
06:13what if we added salt and pepper and other things?
06:19So, between the Scottish, American, African, and Caribbean influences,
06:23fried chicken's really like a melting pot food then.
06:26Got it.
06:27Takes a little bit from everywhere.
06:28Nice.
06:29So, we're running low on gas,
06:31but the good news is our next destination is in a gas station.
06:35But don't let that deter you.
06:36People say this might be some of the best fried chicken in the city.
06:40Keys Fuel Mart.
06:42My man Jay, who runs the joint, is going to be there to meet us.
06:44He's going to hook us up with some chicken.
06:46All right.
06:47Here we go, man.
06:48One-stop shop, basically.
06:4924 hours.
06:5024 hours?
06:51Jeez, man.
06:52You cooking chicken all the time?
06:5324 hours.
06:54Wow.
06:55Yeah.
06:56What do you want to get to drink?
06:57The beverage range at American convenience stores never fails to amaze me.
07:01It's incredible.
07:02A beer here, but we also got energy drinks.
07:04I've not had a Gatorade on this trip yet.
07:05Let's get a soda.
07:07We got Barks.
07:08Bark?
07:09What is Bark?
07:10I thought it said bang.
07:11Barks.
07:12Barks root beer.
07:13Sure.
07:14You never had Barks root beer?
07:15No, sir.
07:16All right.
07:17We're getting the Barks root beer.
07:18Ew, zero sugar.
07:19Get out of here.
07:20Yeah.
07:21Barks root beer.
07:22Sure.
07:23No.
07:24Dude, Barks is the best.
07:25Can't say I've ever had Barks before.
07:26We'll do the combo, please.
07:27Combo?
07:28Yeah.
07:29The only side we have is when we only got fries.
07:31Okay, great.
07:32That was two fries then.
07:33I'm down with the fries.
07:34I'm down with the semper.
07:37All right.
07:38Thank you, sir.
07:39I appreciate it.
07:40Thank you so much.
07:41All right, we got it.
07:42Cool.
07:43Let's go.
07:44Awesome.
07:45Thanks, everybody.
07:48You too.
07:51So we're going to take this and eat somewhere nearby while you drink your Barks?
07:53Yeah, Barks, your trifle.
07:55Fantastic root beer.
07:59Right?
08:00It's pretty flavorful.
08:01Very good, right?
08:02I like it.
08:03All right.
08:04See you next time.
08:05Hang out.
08:06Eat our fried chicken.
08:07Eat our fries.
08:08Have a root beer and a Gatorade and just, you know, enjoy this warm summer's day.
08:14Sounds like my perfect afternoon.
08:17Fried chicken in Louis Armstrong Park does not get more New Orleans-y than that.
08:21And this place has hooked us up.
08:23Check that out.
08:24$7.99, man.
08:25The price is nice.
08:26Yeah, price to me.
08:27I mean, I'm just going to grab the leg because it's like right here.
08:29Yeah, a little drum.
08:30Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:31I kind of want to just like take a part of what I think is the breast, but this thing is enormous.
08:35Yeah.
08:36Damn, dude.
08:37That's a big piece of chicken.
08:38It does look pretty crispy to me.
08:39All right, let's try it.
08:40Let's just take a bite and see what we got.
08:44I mean, it's juicy.
08:46As you've just learned the hard way, it's juicy.
08:50And crispy.
08:51Oh, wow.
08:52That's really great.
08:53There's a distinct flavor to this chicken.
08:54The flavor blend that they have for the skin.
08:57I've not encountered anything like this.
08:58No.
08:59It's really fantastic.
09:00Definitely got a spice to it.
09:02Oh, my God.
09:03It's so juicy.
09:04You should just clean that straight off the bone, man.
09:06I mean, it's salty.
09:07It's crispy.
09:08It's juicy.
09:09It's checking all the boxes that you want fried chicken to check, really.
09:12Just like take a bit of that crispy skin.
09:14Okay.
09:16Mm-hmm.
09:17Yeah, a lot of flavor in there.
09:18The bits around the edges, still super crispy.
09:20Yep.
09:21Oh, man.
09:22To be fair, this was sitting in a box for like 20 minutes.
09:24Mm-hmm.
09:25It still retained a lot of its crisp though.
09:26Mm-hmm, definitely.
09:27I really love the heat level on that.
09:28Wow.
09:30Just enough to like warm your tongue, right?
09:31Yeah.
09:32They wouldn't really tell us what the secret recipe was, but whatever they're putting in there, I'm loving it.
09:36Have you noticed it?
09:37Well-balanced flavors.
09:38Picnic, we got our proprietary seafood boil spices.
09:42We're not sharing.
09:43This guy's not sharing.
09:44Mm-hmm.
09:45Chicken's serious business around here, man.
09:46Yeah.
09:47Yeah.
09:48People care about this stuff.
09:49Love it.
09:50And as they should.
09:51To be honest, when I heard that one of the spots we were hitting today was a gas station,
09:53didn't have high hopes.
09:54No.
09:55I feel like typically-
09:56There's a hoity-toity Brit over here.
09:59I feel like petrol-
10:00We're going to a petrol station, mate.
10:01You're joking.
10:02Is that what you said?
10:03That's exactly what I said, and in the exact tone that I said it.
10:06You're having a laugh, mate.
10:07You're having a laugh.
10:08But yeah, I think in the UK, no one's really going to a petrol station to eat food.
10:12Yeah.
10:13I think it's a good idea as well.
10:14They're open 24 hours.
10:15They're cooking chicken 24 hours a day, which is impressive.
10:17Very.
10:18Especially in a party city like New Orleans is.
10:21You're going to be at the bars.
10:22You're going to be on Bourbon Street.
10:23You've got your daiquiris.
10:25You're on your way home.
10:26You're going to want something hot, fresh, a little greasy, a little salty, a little crispy.
10:31Chicken.
10:32Chicken.
10:33They're filling a real need, I think.
10:35It's kind of funny because it's kind of closer to a London chicken shop.
10:38I was going to ask you about that.
10:39This feels like a bit of a chippy, only it's chicken instead of fish.
10:42Yeah.
10:43I'd say it's kind of a London thing, but we do have chicken shops in London.
10:46Yeah.
10:47But they are often, in a similar way, open all hours, and it is a pretty simple menu.
10:51You're getting chicken, chips, a few different forms.
10:54But it feels like a similar need.
10:56A lot of it is either people leaving school, leaving work, wanting something quick and easy, or leaving the bars later on.
11:02I have to say, though, it still exceeded my expectations.
11:05100%.
11:06This is absolutely fantastic.
11:07Yeah, definitely same with me.
11:08General fried chicken question.
11:10Laid on me.
11:11You have the entire fried bird laid out in front of you.
11:14Okay.
11:15Are you picking breast, leg, thigh, wing?
11:18What are you going for?
11:19I give it straight up.
11:20It always gives convenience.
11:21I'm almost always going for the drum if I'm kind of on the go.
11:24Yep.
11:25Maybe standing around.
11:26It's easy to eat.
11:27Hold it with one hand.
11:28If I'm sitting down, probably breast because it has the most meat.
11:31Similarly going in there.
11:32But also what I like about the wing and the thigh, the meat to skin ratio is really good there.
11:37But it's a little more work to get it to clean those bones.
11:40So it really depends on how hard I'm looking to work or what I'm doing.
11:43Interesting.
11:44How about you?
11:45I'm a thigh guy.
11:46Really?
11:47I'm a big thigh guy.
11:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:50We'll start our own channel.
11:52The thigh.
11:53Everything is around the thigh piece of chicken.
11:57Here we are eating thighs.
11:59Well, we almost ate all this chicken anyway.
12:01Yeah.
12:02I'm still hungry.
12:03You want to go to another place?
12:04Yeah, absolutely.
12:05You don't want to finish this bit that I've ripped apart with my bare hands?
12:07I think there's more fried chicken in the city that you haven't touched.
12:09So I would like to eat some of that.
12:10All right, man.
12:11Got another spot to hit?
12:12Let's hit it.
12:13All right.
12:14This last place we're going to, I want to warn you, is world famous.
12:18Famed around the world.
12:19Famed around this world and beyond.
12:22Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken.
12:24Wow.
12:25So world famous is actually in the name.
12:26In the name.
12:27You weren't just saying that.
12:28No, no, no, no.
12:29It's actually officially world famous.
12:30Officially world famous.
12:31All right.
12:32Well, I'm excited to see if it's food tours famous.
12:34Soon to be.
12:38I don't know if you saw the menu here, but they have 40 ounces.
12:41I've heard a lot about 40s.
12:42I've heard like Edward 40 hams.
12:44Yeah.
12:45What is a 40?
12:46That's 40 ounces of beer in one bottle.
12:49Your pints are 20 fluid ounces, yeah?
12:51Yeah, I think so.
12:52So it's two of those.
12:53The liquid of that in one bottle.
12:55And it's designed for getting drunk.
12:58Sure.
12:59There's no way around it.
13:00You're not getting a 40, like, splitting it between your buddies and putting it on ice
13:02like a thing of champagne.
13:03No.
13:04No, you're not getting a 40.
13:05A 40 is for you, probably at a tailgate or a parking lot.
13:08Yeah.
13:09Or a stoop.
13:10Frat posse.
13:11On the street.
13:12Yeah.
13:13Wandering around in a brown paper bag.
13:14And to pay homage to how they used to do that, you can do that here.
13:16So maybe it's the last stop of the day.
13:17You want to get a 40?
13:18I think we should, yeah.
13:19I will say, though, malt liquor, from what I understand, is just like beer with a lot
13:23more alcohol in it.
13:24So much so that I think it changes from beer to liquor.
13:27Sure.
13:28It's called malt liquor.
13:29It's a really powerful beer.
13:30There's the worst lager you've ever had, but also like the stinging aftertaste of like
13:34the worst whiskey you've ever had.
13:36Yeah.
13:3740 ounces of that.
13:38We have like similar things in the UK where you have like strong lagers.
13:42They're mostly drunk by like teenagers who are trying to get drunk as fast as possible.
13:45Correct.
13:46We do that as adults too.
13:47Yeah.
13:48Alcoholics as well.
13:49Yeah.
13:50You get it.
13:51You get it.
13:52I used to, in my first year of uni, I would drink Frosty Jacks, which was like an extra-strong
13:55cider, which is a cider, but it's like 9% alcohol.
13:58Apple juice.
13:59And you could get a four-pack of them for like five pounds, four pounds.
14:02Too funny.
14:03Yeah.
14:04You guys have your cider over there.
14:05It's not a thing over here.
14:06No.
14:07Oh, wait.
14:08No.
14:09They got Angry Orchard.
14:10Do you want to try our American cider?
14:11I'll take a 40, though.
14:12Let's do a 40.
14:13Let's do a 40, of course.
14:14But we're not here to talk about just alcohol, although that was a lot longer than I should
14:17have gone on.
14:18We're here to talk about fried chicken.
14:20That's why I took you to Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken.
14:23Okay.
14:24So what are we getting?
14:25I'm going to get us plates.
14:26Let's do a three-piece.
14:27Maybe some sides, some slaw.
14:30Yeah.
14:31Any southern sides that you think I should try while I'm here?
14:33Oh, fried okra.
14:34Fried okra sounds good.
14:35Some greens.
14:36Could probably benefit from some vegetables right now.
14:39Contains pork.
14:40Amazing.
14:43Southern vegetarian.
14:46Got to have your pork and greens.
14:47All right.
14:48I will get that.
14:49A couple of 40s.
14:51That's not good?
14:52Sounds great to me.
14:53All right.
14:54Great.
14:56That's amazing.
14:58Smell the cork.
15:02Thank you so much.
15:03I appreciate it.
15:05Cheers.
15:06Cheers, my guy.
15:07Love this.
15:09What was the meme?
15:10It was, uh, I got that dog in me.
15:13Yeah.
15:14And then Miller likes it looking like the mailman.
15:19I'll drink to that.
15:22Oh, wow.
15:23Chicken's already here.
15:24Oh, that was fast.
15:25Right.
15:26It's fried okra, mac and cheese.
15:27And the two-piece dark.
15:28Let me go get you some extra trays.
15:30Thank you so much.
15:31You're very welcome.
15:32This chicken looks ridiculous.
15:34Looks special for sure.
15:35You can see how crispy it is.
15:37The skin looks like glass.
15:39The golden quality of the fry.
15:41We have not seen skin that looks like this of fried chicken today.
15:45So visually incredibly impressive.
15:48This is the dark meat, correct?
15:49Yeah, a couple of pieces of dark meat.
15:51Got a little side-by-side comparison.
15:53Also got the fried okra at the back here, as well as the mac and cheese.
15:57That's really crispy.
15:58Oh, man.
15:59All right, let's give it a shot.
16:00Ready?
16:01Yes, sir.
16:04Whoa.
16:07Oh, God.
16:08It's a win on the crisp.
16:10It is juicy, but of the three we've had today,
16:13those last two were just pouring out of it.
16:16Interesting.
16:17I would say personally, my experience, this is probably juicier than Kee's.
16:21Probably on a par with Picnic.
16:23Oh, really?
16:24Yeah.
16:25Okay.
16:26We might have just got different pieces, you know?
16:27Yeah.
16:28The skin is its own game.
16:29What's wild to me, I think, is that even if you just bite into the middle piece of the breast there,
16:34it's still really flavorful.
16:35Yep.
16:36Whatever they're marinating in, it's really soaking into the whole piece of the chicken,
16:40so that even when they cook it, you're still tasting it throughout the meat.
16:43Although, yeah, that skin, it's like glass, man.
16:46Right?
16:47Isn't that really good?
16:48Very impressive.
16:49And before, I was being like, who cares about a secret recipe?
16:51But actually, I could see how they'd want to keep this under lock and key,
16:54because this is dangerous, how good this is.
16:56Again, a nice amount of heat on it.
16:58A tiny bit of sweetness I'm getting.
17:00Yeah, I'm getting that as well.
17:01From something in there.
17:02I'm really into it.
17:03I wonder how this compares to a dark meat.
17:04Yeah, do you want to grab a piece of dark meat?
17:05Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:06I'm grabbing this one because it's closer.
17:07We're losing napkins.
17:12That is a flavor all of its own.
17:15I'm trying to win you over to the dark side here.
17:18Thoughts on that compared to the first piece you tried?
17:21Dark meat's better.
17:22Yeah?
17:23Definitely.
17:24Definitely.
17:25Very good.
17:26I don't know what it is.
17:27I think it's something to do with the amount of work that it gets during its lifetime,
17:30but you really get these juicy, dense, and flavorful pockets.
17:40I think compared to the first two that we tried,
17:42this is almost more like a batter than a breading.
17:44Yes, good observation, yeah.
17:46Just in the way that when you cook it,
17:48it forms that real hard shell around the outside,
17:51which then locks in all of that juice, all of that moisture,
17:54whereas the other two were breaded.
17:56You're still locking in some moisture,
17:57but you don't get that hard casing that you do at Gus's, for example.
18:01Want to try some of these sides?
18:03Going in on the mac and cheese.
18:05Mac and cheese, pretty classic soul food side, right?
18:08Oh, yeah.
18:09They're doing it well in the South.
18:10Would this be your first time having fried okra?
18:12I think it might be.
18:13I can't remember having okra before.
18:19I do love how I saw okra, and I was like,
18:21oh, like a vegetable.
18:22Oh, no, it's fried.
18:24Have you had that before?
18:25Oh, it's good, though.
18:26I might have, but I can't put my finger on when.
18:28I don't know what okra is.
18:29I know okra in the universe of soul food.
18:31Sure, yeah.
18:32I've never seen it used anywhere else.
18:34No.
18:35I'm sure it has.
18:36People in the comments will tell me.
18:37I just haven't noticed.
18:38It's very tasty.
18:39Gus's parents, they started making fried chicken in various taverns,
18:43protecting their recipe for fried chicken,
18:46to eventually, in the 70s, opening their own brick-and-mortar restaurant.
18:50Ran it for years.
18:51Eventually, it closed down, and they passed away.
18:53RIP.
18:54In the early 80s, Gus took that secret recipe
18:57that his parents perfected over their lifetime
19:00and decided to reintroduce it to the world
19:02and opened up Gus's world-famous fried chicken.
19:06So this is his parents' secret recipe.
19:07Got it.
19:08I mean, this thing is under lock and key.
19:11Again, you don't know the place you're going to go here.
19:13They will never give up the secret recipe.
19:15Taking these recipes very seriously,
19:16they seem to back themselves.
19:18I mean, even on the cup, it says,
19:19if you haven't eaten at Gus's, you haven't had fried chicken,
19:22which is a hell of a claim.
19:24But why is it when I see a recipe online
19:26and try and make it, it's completely destroyed?
19:28Yeah.
19:29It has nothing to do with just the recipe.
19:30It's like the person making it, right?
19:31There's a lot of, like, the technique involved,
19:33the skill, how hot you're frying things,
19:35which oil you're frying things in.
19:36Yeah.
19:37So they do a national fried chicken challenge every year,
19:41and in 2022, Gus has won.
19:44Okay.
19:45So at least in 2022,
19:46they get to crown the best fried chicken in the United States.
19:48I can kind of see why.
19:49No small feat.
19:50No small feat.
19:51There's a lot of contenders there.
19:52The people of Nashville must be fuming with that.
19:55Why?
19:56Nashville hot chicken
19:57being surpassed by Gus's of New Orleans.
19:59You know, I've had Nashville hot chicken.
20:01It's fine.
20:02It became this thing,
20:03like, this, like, style of fried chicken that's everywhere.
20:05Like, it's Nashville.
20:07Take it easy, all right?
20:08I would like to do a Nashville episode at some point,
20:10so please don't burn too many bridges.
20:11No.
20:12I don't know.
20:13This is an excellent fried chicken,
20:15and I can see why they would have won
20:17such a prestigious chicken award.
20:19Went to this location by the French Quarter,
20:21but they have 27 locations throughout the country.
20:23So they have franchised and done very well for themselves.
20:25So secret recipes do pay off.
20:28Yeah.
20:29All right.
20:30We're here to do a thing.
20:31Mm-hmm.
20:32And we must do it now.
20:33We have to decide which of these three
20:34they've got today are our favorites.
20:36Oh.
20:37And it is a hard decision to make.
20:38It's a really hard decision to make.
20:40The hardest.
20:41Yeah.
20:42This is the Sophie's Choice of fried chicken.
20:43It's got three kids.
20:44I don't know.
20:45I never saw Sophie's Choice.
20:46Sophie's Choice 2, the sequel.
20:49She's got three kids now.
20:50What three?
20:52I don't know.
20:53I never saw the movie.
20:54So we started the day at Picnic, Whiskey, and Provisions.
20:58Provisions and Whiskey, yeah.
20:59Provisions and Whiskey.
21:00Fantastic spot.
21:01Loved the vibe.
21:02Really impressed.
21:03I definitely could tell that the creators,
21:07coming from immense pedigree of New Orleans food
21:10and New Orleans culture, decided to make something,
21:13as they said, like a picnic,
21:15a place where you're supposed to come with your family,
21:17have drinks, eat, enjoy yourself,
21:19really leaning into the neighborhood,
21:21communal aspect of fried chicken,
21:23which this, as a dish, post-Civil War,
21:26was something that brought communities together.
21:28Yeah.
21:29I feel it's really cool how they're celebrating that
21:30at the restaurant.
21:31And also the chicken was absolutely amazing.
21:33Really good.
21:34Like, incredibly good.
21:35After that, we went to the Keys Fuel Mart.
21:37Mm-hmm.
21:38What'd you think of that?
21:39I really enjoyed it, yeah.
21:40I liked the vibe in there.
21:41Again, that idea of just like fried chicken
21:43being an accessible food.
21:45They're churning it out 24 hours a day
21:47to a very high standard.
21:49I think it was really cool.
21:50Yeah, grab and go.
21:51It felt very much like an authentic New Orleans experience.
21:54And now we're here at Gus's.
21:56Tradition on a plate.
21:57Amazing recipe.
21:58Secret.
21:59No one's getting their hands on it.
22:00I don't know what they would do if they had it.
22:02It's like giving the launch codes to the wrong hands.
22:05Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
22:06Can't let the Colonel get anywhere near this.
22:08I mean, absolutely fantastic chicken.
22:10Love the crispiness of the skin,
22:12the flavors of its own.
22:14Different to the others we've had.
22:16That crispy skin, like I say,
22:17almost more like a battered vibe,
22:19which personally I love.
22:20Because, as you said,
22:21one of the things that we wanted to look for
22:23in all of these dishes was like a crunch.
22:25You definitely get that here.
22:26It's still got the flavors that you know and love.
22:28It's got that heat to it.
22:29And it was very juicy.
22:31Yeah, all in all, for me,
22:32this is quite a tough decision,
22:33trying to pick a favorite from the three.
22:35How about you?
22:36It is tough, but I do have one.
22:37I think, though, you like this so much
22:39because also you guys have battered sausages over there.
22:42See, right?
22:43I mean, this is reminiscent of a battered sausage,
22:45like the same type of skin.
22:46I appreciate where you're coming from,
22:48but I strongly disagree.
22:50Fair enough, fair enough.
22:51I think any one of these
22:53would be someone's favorite meal
22:55if they came to this city.
22:57As I said, anything wasn't bad.
22:58It was all really awesome.
23:00So really going on my personal preference,
23:02if I had to pick one, and I do,
23:04my favorite today was Picnic.
23:07Loved that chicken.
23:09Loved the mayo
23:10and the powdered hot sauce.
23:13Can it still be a sauce?
23:14Although all the things on the plate
23:16were fantastic on all the sides,
23:17the chicken itself just absolutely blew me away.
23:20The flavor, the amount of care,
23:22the cook, everything about it.
23:24I was just like, wow,
23:25I've never had fried chicken this good before.
23:27I thought it was absolutely amazing.
23:28So for me, Picnic Provisions of Whiskey
23:30was my favorite today.
23:31Yeah.
23:32You know what, Joe?
23:33I agree with you.
23:34Wow.
23:35Fine margins,
23:36because I did really enjoy this Gus' chicken particularly,
23:38but I do think overall,
23:40Picnic had a slightly better plate.
23:42That chicken was so tasty.
23:44The marinade, the breading that they were using there
23:46was delicious.
23:47It had like a little bit of depth of flavor
23:49that I don't think we've had anywhere else
23:51in that the chicken was a little bit hot,
23:53which was lovely,
23:54but it had like other flavor profiles.
23:56It was like a little bit of citrus in there
23:57that really like elevated it,
23:59took it to that next level.
24:00You can tell that the founders have come
24:02from that kind of like fine dining,
24:04like fancy restaurant background,
24:06but the vibe in there,
24:07they've managed to create,
24:08it's just really nice,
24:09welcoming, friendly, local joint,
24:11and the food is sensational.
24:12Yeah.
24:13Again, I think as a tourist,
24:14I would recommend any of these that we've been to
24:17in terms of having authentic Southern fried chicken.
24:20Yeah.
24:21You can't really go wrong.
24:22I agree.
24:23Unless you go to one of those
24:24Willy's or Voodoo chickens on Bourbon Street.
24:26Probably don't do that.
24:28Somebody explain that to us,
24:29why there is half a dozen Willy's
24:31and none of them are Willy Mays.
24:33Yeah.
24:34Which I couldn't go to.
24:35No.
24:37Yeah, that's weird.
24:38Yeah.
24:39I mean, I'm from London where we have like
24:40Alaska fried chicken.
24:41Yeah, no.
24:42And a lot of like KFC rip-offs.
24:43Everything's a Joe's pizza.
24:45Yeah.
24:46Don't be fooled.
24:47Don't be fooled.
24:48Son of Joe's.
24:50All right.
24:51Man, this is great.
24:52Do you want to finish up
24:53and take these 40s on the road?
24:55I think there's 40 to go.
24:56She took our caps.
24:57She did.
24:58Yeah.
24:59Better get these before they go flat.
25:00Cheers.
25:03All right, is that Louis Armstrong Park?
25:05I see trees of green, Joe.
25:06Do you?
25:07Yeah.
25:08Red roses too?
25:09How does he sing again?
25:10I see trees of green.
25:12Red roses too.
25:13Are we getting audio on this?