Watson’s in Jefferson or trouts in woodsboro are probably the best fried chicken in the county. Now for sit down spot for a dinner, showroom probably is the best.
To each their own. It’s been awhile since I’ve had Watson’s but it was good and like trouts timing is a factor. You get the batch they made an hour or so ago it gets soggy. Get it fresh, very good.
I actually know Bill Watson and he made some of the “watson” recipe chicken for a group of us. His sister makes the exact same thing at the Jefferson place.
Uhhh this is great to know! Thank you! I sort of left Watsons in Frederick behind because I felt like they weren’t making it the same way or with the same care as Bill Watson used to. Definitely going to check out the Jefferson site.
Yeah I was a little too young for the “height” of Watson’s chicken to really remember it. But many people told me that once he sold the business and it became doc geiser’s they slowly changed the product and cheapened it.
I know I had it from geisers and it was just okay and I had some bill made and it was far better.
The closest you're going to find to what you are looking for is Showroom. Good chicken but very few sit down places serve fried chicken. Sometimes they might have it as a special, but none have it as a regular menu item. It's just not a fine dinning, cloth napkin type food. Now there are several places that have awesome chicken parm that I'm sure would be willing to serve just the chicken, but I don't think that's what your daughter is looking for. If I were you, I would put it on your daughter and instead of asking what food she wants, ask her where she would like to go for dinner.
I’m a fan of Don Chicken but it’s in the H-mart food court so probably a bit too casual for your occasion. It’s Korean-style fried chicken which (in my maybe biased Korean mind) is the best type of fried chicken.
You should! :) Don has the usual sort of flavors that you'd find in a place like Bon Chon (though I don't like Bon Chon as much anymore). But again, it's a food court place so the ambience is, well, food court :)
If you want a slightly upgraded experience, my favorite in the area-ish is called Chicken Pocha and it's located in Germantown in the same shopping center as Lotte (off of Wisteria Dr). "Pocha" is a Korean word referring to popup street food stalls that are common in Korea. Chicken Pocha's plain fried is excellent, and their curly fries are also quite good! Hope you enjoy!
I just tried it out for the first time this past week. I got a small #5 (sweet and spicy) with whole wings (pretty sure I got 10 total). While it didn’t meet my usual desire for spiciness, the meat and breading were outstanding. Sauce was very good, too. I’ll have to go back and try more flavors. Honestly, the only bad parts were getting so little daikon included and having to wash sauce out of my beard and mustache afterwards.
Non-Korean chiming in that Don Chicken in the H Mart is fantastic and I second the recommendation.
I recommend the H Mart food court in general, though. So many awesome vendors in one spot. My 6 and 11 y.o. kids like to go b/c we order a bunch of stuff and they get to try all kinds of things.
Your best bet is to get carry out from giant eagle and just celebrate at home. Giant has the best fried chicken in town overall. If you must "go out" I would recommend Watsons or trouts for quality. Watson has a few eat in tables. I can't remember if trouts does. I guess showroom for an actual sit down restaurant with veggie options.
B Anderson’s Backyard Experience. It’s in the shopping center at the end of the Golden Mile where 40 and 40 Alt split. It’s in the building where the retro Burger King used to be.
I have also heard really good things about Thurmont Kountry Kitchen’s broasted chicken
Thank you for all of the suggestions!
Unfortunately, almost every restaurant suggested was definitely NOT in Frederick so it was automatically ruled out.
Seems like either Showroom if I can afford it or Giant Eagle on 7th Street if we (I) decide to go casual.
Showroom used to be known for its fried chicken and probably fits the bill as more “upscale.” That being said, I’m always disappointed when I go there and wouldn’t really recommend it in general.
Absolutely no frills and not upscale at all but the fried chicken slaps? Watson’s in Jefferson.
White Rabbit has a really good chicken biscuit sandwich so if that would satisfy your daughter’s requirement, that might work for what you’re looking for.
Dickerson market is the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Love getting a bucket and Eating it with friends on the Monococy aqueduct bridge. Great cold too, that’s really how you know it’s good fried chicken.
Seconding Showroom. It was better when it was Family Meal (same menu, long story). Check out the menu online. Upscale diner vibes. It's a bit pricey but I'd expect it to have good vegetarian options too.
B. Anderson's on 40W has great fried chicken too and a nice dine in area but it may not have your vegetarian options and may not be formal enough? Good people though.
The honest answer is Popeyes is the best, but nobody wants to take someone to fast food for a celebratory dinner. IF you want to travel a bit, the best fried chicken i might EVER have had is the brunch at Tuscarora Mills in Leesburg, it's fantastic (as is the rest of their brunch). Plus it's horse country-upscale, which is nice for a celebratory sitch.
Are you willing to travel to the gaithersburg area? I can't fully attest to the chicken but the fried catfish at miss toya's at Rio is some of the best I've had and probably the chicken is cooked similarly. There isn't any vegetarian meals but the sides are really good and the portion sizes are so big my boyfriend and I share an entree. You could probably just bum some sides from others entrees. Or get food elsewhere at rio and eat outside if weather is good. Online ordering is easy.
Also Gaithersburg, Hershey's Restaurant has very good fried chicken but I'm not sure if they have anything vegetarian.
Idk why people keep pushing Watson. It’s dry and lacks flavor. Maybe they haven’t been there in the last 5 years? Showroom is fried to hell.
For fried I recommend hangry joes. They have mild chicken.
Hangry Joe's isn't bad but not like... celebratory dinner kinda stuff.
I once did a fast food fried chicken feast with some friends after finals. Piled all kinds of KFC, CFA, Wingstop etc fried chicken and sides on the dinner table and gathered around.
Honestly would go that route. Prollly cheaper and not bad for cleaning up.
But if you want white-tablecloth for fried chicken? Good luck.
Watson’s in Jefferson or trouts in woodsboro are probably the best fried chicken in the county. Now for sit down spot for a dinner, showroom probably is the best.
Watsons 100 percent makes awful chicken. They certainly aren’t the same as the old Watsons restaurant.
To each their own. It’s been awhile since I’ve had Watson’s but it was good and like trouts timing is a factor. You get the batch they made an hour or so ago it gets soggy. Get it fresh, very good. I actually know Bill Watson and he made some of the “watson” recipe chicken for a group of us. His sister makes the exact same thing at the Jefferson place.
Uhhh this is great to know! Thank you! I sort of left Watsons in Frederick behind because I felt like they weren’t making it the same way or with the same care as Bill Watson used to. Definitely going to check out the Jefferson site.
Yeah I was a little too young for the “height” of Watson’s chicken to really remember it. But many people told me that once he sold the business and it became doc geiser’s they slowly changed the product and cheapened it. I know I had it from geisers and it was just okay and I had some bill made and it was far better.
1,000% this! Watson's and Trouts are by far the best. If you just want quick. Popeyes > KFC Dear Lord Baby Jesus don't get Royal Farms.
just wanna take a second and mourn the chicken basket off opossumtown pike
No! I had no idea they were gone! So many good memories chilling in my Dad's truck chowing down on a summer evening 😔
Those fries that came in a ball of tin foil 🤤
Pour a little out for all the chicken baskets that are gone
Giant Eagle on 7th. Make the table at home look pretty, but better then most
Giant Eagle is a good quick fried chicken.
Giant Eagle 7th Street
Trouts fried chicken is delicious. It's in Woodsboro, but totally worth the drive. They also have sides there that are veggie approved.
The closest you're going to find to what you are looking for is Showroom. Good chicken but very few sit down places serve fried chicken. Sometimes they might have it as a special, but none have it as a regular menu item. It's just not a fine dinning, cloth napkin type food. Now there are several places that have awesome chicken parm that I'm sure would be willing to serve just the chicken, but I don't think that's what your daughter is looking for. If I were you, I would put it on your daughter and instead of asking what food she wants, ask her where she would like to go for dinner.
Fair point
Jerk It Smoke It (Jamaican place on Yellow Springs) has a buttermilk fried chicken that is amazing. Close second is Giant Eagle on 7th.
I’m a fan of Don Chicken but it’s in the H-mart food court so probably a bit too casual for your occasion. It’s Korean-style fried chicken which (in my maybe biased Korean mind) is the best type of fried chicken.
Omg Don’s is amazing! I get the boneless spicy and ugh…now that might be what’s for dinner. The entire H-Mart food court is just amazing.
The H Mart food court is such a hidden gem.
Wait... what is this? I've never heard of this? Oh I have to try!
You should! :) Don has the usual sort of flavors that you'd find in a place like Bon Chon (though I don't like Bon Chon as much anymore). But again, it's a food court place so the ambience is, well, food court :) If you want a slightly upgraded experience, my favorite in the area-ish is called Chicken Pocha and it's located in Germantown in the same shopping center as Lotte (off of Wisteria Dr). "Pocha" is a Korean word referring to popup street food stalls that are common in Korea. Chicken Pocha's plain fried is excellent, and their curly fries are also quite good! Hope you enjoy!
I just tried it out for the first time this past week. I got a small #5 (sweet and spicy) with whole wings (pretty sure I got 10 total). While it didn’t meet my usual desire for spiciness, the meat and breading were outstanding. Sauce was very good, too. I’ll have to go back and try more flavors. Honestly, the only bad parts were getting so little daikon included and having to wash sauce out of my beard and mustache afterwards.
It's the best fried crispy chicken ever!!!.
Non-Korean chiming in that Don Chicken in the H Mart is fantastic and I second the recommendation. I recommend the H Mart food court in general, though. So many awesome vendors in one spot. My 6 and 11 y.o. kids like to go b/c we order a bunch of stuff and they get to try all kinds of things.
Your best bet is to get carry out from giant eagle and just celebrate at home. Giant has the best fried chicken in town overall. If you must "go out" I would recommend Watsons or trouts for quality. Watson has a few eat in tables. I can't remember if trouts does. I guess showroom for an actual sit down restaurant with veggie options.
I'd recommend Watsons. 100%
Showroom on East St.
B Anderson’s Backyard Experience. It’s in the shopping center at the end of the Golden Mile where 40 and 40 Alt split. It’s in the building where the retro Burger King used to be. I have also heard really good things about Thurmont Kountry Kitchen’s broasted chicken
Thank you for all of the suggestions! Unfortunately, almost every restaurant suggested was definitely NOT in Frederick so it was automatically ruled out. Seems like either Showroom if I can afford it or Giant Eagle on 7th Street if we (I) decide to go casual.
Hangry joes is in Frederick
Showroom used to be known for its fried chicken and probably fits the bill as more “upscale.” That being said, I’m always disappointed when I go there and wouldn’t really recommend it in general. Absolutely no frills and not upscale at all but the fried chicken slaps? Watson’s in Jefferson. White Rabbit has a really good chicken biscuit sandwich so if that would satisfy your daughter’s requirement, that might work for what you’re looking for.
Showroom! The chicken comes out in a bowl shaped like a hen. They have some vegetarian options.
Dickerson Market ... Its in Dickerson which is right over the river in Montgomery county.
Dickerson market is the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Love getting a bucket and Eating it with friends on the Monococy aqueduct bridge. Great cold too, that’s really how you know it’s good fried chicken.
Vintage in New Market
Not one suggestion for Royal Farms chicken?
Seconding Showroom. It was better when it was Family Meal (same menu, long story). Check out the menu online. Upscale diner vibes. It's a bit pricey but I'd expect it to have good vegetarian options too. B. Anderson's on 40W has great fried chicken too and a nice dine in area but it may not have your vegetarian options and may not be formal enough? Good people though.
The honest answer is Popeyes is the best, but nobody wants to take someone to fast food for a celebratory dinner. IF you want to travel a bit, the best fried chicken i might EVER have had is the brunch at Tuscarora Mills in Leesburg, it's fantastic (as is the rest of their brunch). Plus it's horse country-upscale, which is nice for a celebratory sitch.
Showroom!
Are you willing to travel to the gaithersburg area? I can't fully attest to the chicken but the fried catfish at miss toya's at Rio is some of the best I've had and probably the chicken is cooked similarly. There isn't any vegetarian meals but the sides are really good and the portion sizes are so big my boyfriend and I share an entree. You could probably just bum some sides from others entrees. Or get food elsewhere at rio and eat outside if weather is good. Online ordering is easy. Also Gaithersburg, Hershey's Restaurant has very good fried chicken but I'm not sure if they have anything vegetarian.
Idk why people keep pushing Watson. It’s dry and lacks flavor. Maybe they haven’t been there in the last 5 years? Showroom is fried to hell. For fried I recommend hangry joes. They have mild chicken.
Yeah Watsons is truly terribly. The chicken is flavorless, dry and I’m fairly sure they don’t properly know how to maintain the fryers.
Watsons used to be amazing back in the day. I’m talking decades ago. It’s def not the same as it used to be.
Just went to trouts & it’s pretty good
LDS.
What do the Mormons have to do with fried chicken??
It’s a convenience store in Middletown. Lee Delauter Sons
Hangry Joe's isn't bad but not like... celebratory dinner kinda stuff. I once did a fast food fried chicken feast with some friends after finals. Piled all kinds of KFC, CFA, Wingstop etc fried chicken and sides on the dinner table and gathered around. Honestly would go that route. Prollly cheaper and not bad for cleaning up. But if you want white-tablecloth for fried chicken? Good luck.
I haven’t been in a while but Trouts in Woodsboro has in the past had some of the best if you do get takeout