Friday, August 13, 2021

Roy Rogers Fried Chicken

The last time I had Roy Rogers' fwied cheekan was back in the late 1900's... Those glorious days of yore in the 80's were full of neon, pastels, tight rolled jeans, leotards, giant shoulder pads, Aquanet, big hair and mullets lived in harmony... And no one had a fucking care in the world. Fast food chains were dominating the food culture and fried chicken was on fire. NYC didn't have Popeyes back then. The national chain, KFC, was garbage. But there was the NYC version of KFC... Kennedy Fried Chicken. Those hole in the wall mothercluckers sold everything on their menu except sushi. But their fried chicken was only good when you were drunk, on drugs or desperate like a skank jonesing for a hit in the lower east side. Great fried chicken in NYC was harder to find than a 8-ball of crack. Then I discovered some of the best fried chicken for that time in the least likely of places... At a fast food roast beef joint named Roy Rogers. This chain was exploding all over New York and New Jersey. Holy shit, I was hook, line and sinker after the first bite of that crispy juicy cheekan. It was instant crack for me... I was wigging out like that chickenhead, Pookie, from New Jack City. And Roy Rogers was now my brother's keeper and feeder... Yippee-ki-yay, motherfuckers! Yo, man, wanna buy a turkey?
I was in Jersey visiting family and hanging out at the beach with the Sitch in Seaside Heights and found a Roy Rogers in Toms River. I knew I had to stop in for some cheekan and damn, that dericious aroma is making me smack my chicken lips, I can't wait any longer... Let's get right to it.

This is the type of box I would eat out on a daily basis... One leg behind each ear.

Before Popeyes came out with their Cajun Sparkle seasoning... Roy Rogers dusted their cheekan in crack.

Fuck me, these aren't the prices that I remembered back in the 80's... A leg, thigh and biscuit for almost $6... Goddamn, Biden inflation. My childhood memories better come crashing back in on the first bite... And it better make me wet my pants like I used to. Look at that crust. Real flaky and not too thick... Kinda like Popeyes. The pieces are normal size unlike the GMO pieces at Kennedy Fried Chicken. Which I have always suspected they were from drugged up zombie pigeons from Washington Square Park... The legs always had track marks. Let's go with the thigh first... Great crust, crispy and thin and gave that nice crunch when you bite into it. The meat was flavorful and juicy. Oh, man, just as I remembered with that crack-like seasoning. Sorry, Nancy, I just can't say no to this addictive fowl. There was nothing left of the thigh except the bones which looked like a dead rat behind the fridge from 1954. The leg was smaller and I ate that bitch like in 3 bites. The biscuit was surprisingly good, not all hard and dried up. It was buttery and moist. Shit, I shoulda made a little chicken biscuit with it. I just realized that I didn't use any hot sauce on this chicken... I ate that shit so fast.

Damn, do I miss this place. They need to open a few down in the south, especially, in the ATL. I don't care if it's in the ghetto, I will risk life and limb for it. But like with In-N-Out Burger, it is just too far outside their market. Their fwied cheekan is still legit.

Pump pump... Squirt.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

We’ve missed you!

Pinky said...

Nice to hear from you!