So here I am dispatched to check out two newcomers - Frankie Bird in Troy and Dave’s Hot Chicken in Albany - and make the call as hit or hype.įacing stiff taco competition in Troy, The Daisy Tacos & Bar closed in late 2022 to rebrand. That same year, Albany acquired a franchise of bb.q chicken, South Korea’s largest fried chicken chain, on Central Avenue.

Gaining traction since 2016, Nashville hot chicken, with roots in the 1970s or even earlier to the 1930s, became a national obsession in 2020. In its wake, more than 20 American fast food brands added fried chicken to their menus over the next two years. Consider the Popeyes-versus-Chick-fil-A fried chicken war of 2019 that drew clapbacks from Wendy’s and McDonald’s. Turns out, fried chicken can also be polarizing. Crossing borders and cultures, there are endless variations, from Japanese karaage to Korean huraideu-chicken and spicy yangnyeom, or West African-seasoned and battered fried chicken that became, via forced enslavement, the culinary root of Southern fried chicken in the U.S. Of all things that can be brined, breaded and fried, chicken is the winner.

Chicken dave's