Photo by Jenn Richards
11 Berry Hill Rd., Syosset
516-558-7087
84 Rte. 109, West Babylon
No Phone Yet
(late November opening)
Barry Zimmerman has dabbled with chicken-and-ribs joints in Great Neck and Melville through the years, but he never equaled the success of his advertising firm on Madison Avenue, which has been around for 30 years. Chicken’s is his big play, and this time, he may have all the ingredients to start a viable franchise with what he calls his “upscale fast food” concept. Skinless fried chicken is the focus and the basis for producing greaseless poultry is a $12,000 pressure fryer that seals out the oil and according to Zimmerman, produces a healthier fried chicken experience “comparable to rotisserie chicken in fat, calories and carbohydrates.” They use only fresh, skinless chicken which I found to be very flavorful, very lightly breaded, crispy, tender and mostly devoid of the oily mess associated with most fried chicken. For the signature meal it’s joined by awesome pressure-fried potato wedges—big spears, crisp on the outside and creamy within—Texas toast and freshly made coleslaw. The take-out-only store also offers whole rotisserie chickens basted with a secret concoction that can also be ordered barbecue style and a Chicken Finger Sandwich served on grilled Ciabatta roll. Zimmerman hopes to be up and running with his second location in West Babylon by the end of November. If all goes well, we could be calling him “the Colonel.”
736 Rte. 25a, East Setauket
631-675-1441
The third-of-a-pound Angus Beef burger, made with freshly ground meat and a secret blend of spices, is the main draw at Chris Aliperti’s spiffy, six-month-old, free-standing, order-at-the-counter burger shack near Stony Brook University, an outgrowth of Aliperti’s Home Run Hero’s in Centereach. The basic burger here is cooked to order and piled high with lettuce, tomato, raw onion, pickles, ketchup and mayo. I have them hold that mayo and open wide to accommodate the sturdy patty. It’s a decent $5 burger (not as juicy as I would like) and the skin-on fries are addictive. Turkey or veggie burgers can subbed at no extra cost. For a dollar more you can upgrade to variations with local monikers like the Old Field and the Grist Mill, both very popular. Subs, salads and soups round out the menu along with a roster of chicken sandwiches. I had the Buffalo Chicken which could have been more boldly spiced and sauced. Sweeten things up with Coke or Root Beer Floats and real milkshakes in a variety of original-sounding special flavors.
