The mister and I had been discussing our desire to try Gus's Fried Chicken for several months actually, but never found the time to stop in, despite passing the establishment quite frequently. This week he suggested that we just abandon all diet responsibilites and restrictions and just go for it. The restaurant has been reviewed often and is even ranked "Highly Recommended" by Frommer's (they have a travel website, magazine and a few books out there if you've never heard of them) so I think it to be a slight abomination for someone from Memphis to have never engorged themselves at this venue.
We went in and the place was packed. We were unsure how long we would have to wait, but someone who'd placed a to-go order was kind enough to let us have the last table in the place. We were seated and ordered the traditional sweet tea and I asked for a lemon. They don't have lemons. They have lemon juice packets. I think my excitement about this was slightly skewed; I was one of those weird kids who would just open one of those packets and suck all of the lemon juice out, and would drink 5 or 6 of them in one sitting. Nonetheless, I refrained and just put it into my tea. Also adding to the jovial nature of the evening, people kept selecting Michael Jackson songs on the jukebox, and when Thriller came on, four young children at a table behind us began mimicking the dance sequences. Hilarity at its finest, but I'm almost certain that posting that video would be a violation of something...
While waiting for the main course, we feasted on Fried Green Tomatoes, which I've had an appetite for ever since watching the movie of the same name. I love these things. And as a bonus, I was informed that my boyfriend's mother cooks them...score!
I ordered the 2 piece dark and had the baked beans and potato salad as my sides, with a slice of white bread completing the meal. You know this is a made-from-scratch recipe because the potato skin has been left on and after having this, I don't know if I'll ever truly enjoy anyone else's potato salad. When I finally had the gratification to taste the chicken, my first thought was "OMG..." My immediately subsequent thought was "OMG, that's hot" and my nose started running and lips began tingling. My date asks, "How is it?" to which I respond, "I think someone put hot sauce in the chicken." As he continues chewing his dinner, he points to the top of the menu, which I managed to overlook and it clearly states, "Welcome to Gus's Spicy Fried Chicken" and no one had given me the heads-up. To everyone I will unabashedly say, reading is fundamental.After eating all that I could, I packed my to-go box and we managed to snag a Jamaican brownie to feast on at home. And no, it's not the presumed Jamaican variety of ingredients. Just walnuts, caramel and chocolate, but totally worth the calories.
Lessons learned from this outing?
1. Gus's is awesome. I don't care what dieticians profess, you need fried chicken in your life.
2. The kitchen crew know exactly what they're doing and they're also quite photogenic.
3. There's never an inappropriate time or place to get down to the musical stylings of King of Pop.
Make sure you pay them a visit soon. You can find them in Downtown Memphis at 310 S Front Street or at 215 South Center Street in Collierville, TN. 
FYI on their sweet tea, and it may depend on the location, ask for sweet tea/lemon aid. It actually tastes a whole lot better that way. I've been to the one in Mason, and the one on 64, and they are awesome!
ReplyDeleteI would have to say this is some of the best chicken I have ever tasted. Its great. Everytime I go out for fried chicken I'll be trying to find Gus's.
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