Chicago: Cocktails and More at Parson’s Chicken and Fish

On my last Chicago trip last summer, I had made a list of spots I wanted to try including Parson’s Chicken and Fish. I ran out of town last time but made it a point to stop in this summer.

It was a Wednesday but it was quite busy so we got a couple of drinks at the bar while we waited for our table. I had the Red Skeleton. It was a tall drink and quite refreshing on the dog friendly patio. My friend, a newly transplated Chicagoan, had the Negroni slushie.

Red Skeleton – Rittenhouse rye whiskey, Meletti 1870 bitter aperitivo, simple syrup, lemon, Peychaud’s bitters

The Original Negroni Slushie – Leatherbee gin, Luxardo bitter, sweet vermouth, citrus

I was in the Mid-West so I felt I should get cheese curds even though I knew I’d be in Madison, Wisconsin in a few days. Still, I believe in head starts. These were so creamy! They had potato as well as confit garlic and cheddar. Served with ranch dressing, these were mini heart attacks but so worth it.

 

 

 

I always like saying, “let’s get a nice little salad.” The Ponderosa fits the bill with little gem lettuce as well as a generous portion of lardons and cheddar cheese. Is it healthy? No, but it’s tasty as hell and we could pretend we had some veggies with our meal.

 

Parson’s has their own house beer in cute cans. It reminded me back in my college days where you bought grocery store beer with a simple “beer” on the can. Of course this was better. This is from a local brewery.

I had the Green Meanie to drink. It’s always a good sign when the server is as enthusiastic about your order as you are. Make that two Green Meanies then!

Green Meanie – Libelula tequila, Green Chartreuse, verdita

 

 

My friend and I split the 1/2 fried Amish chicken. You could also just get two pieces, a whole, fried or grilled. Plus I saw they had hot (as in spicy) as well. I’m a big fan of fried chicken and if I lived in Chicago, I’d probably work my way through the chicken menu. But since this was my first time, I wanted the fried chicken.

As it turns out, it was well fried but I felt the batter wasn’t very seasoned. This probably explains the variety of dipping sauces you can order to go with your chicken.

 

My friend’s fiance made a good choice by getting the fried chicken sandwich. You don’t have to deal with bones and there’s lots of flavor bombs from the cheese, aioli, slaw and hot sauce.

 

Did we also get mac and cheese? Why yes, we did. And it was worth it!

 

Parson’s Chicken and Fish

2952 W Armitage, Chicago, IL 60647  —  773-384-3333

© 2018 The Minty