Fried chicken is one of the most popular foods in the United States, a dish that, according to Chicago-based research firm Datassential, is seen on 74 percent of American and Southern menus, 80 percent of Chinese menus, and 61 percent of Caribbean menus, and features heavily in many restaurants nationwide. It is one of the most versatile foods, used in a wide range of recipes, and is a fowl that Americans consume around 100 pounds of per year.
To find the top fried chicken spot in every state, 24/7 Tempo consulted rankings and reviews appearing on regional websites for every state, then used editorial discretion to make our final choices. (Check out the best place to get chicken wings in every state.)
Here is the top fried chicken spot in every state:
Alabama: Jackson’s Station
- Location: Camden
This simple small-town restaurant southwest of Selma became big news in 2017 when it was in a different location and called Jackson’s Fried Chicken. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, ate there while on their famous road trip across America. (Zuckerberg declared the fried chicken “delicious.”) Besides golden-brown chicken pieces, the restaurant serves tenders, chicken salad, a chicken liver “snack,” and “The World-Famous COB” – a fried tender sandwich with a tangy sauce.
Alaska: Lucky Wishbone
- Location: Anchorage
This 68-year-old Anchorage restaurant (not to be confused with a small chain having the same name in Tucson) dips its fresh chicken in buttermilk and a light batter, making for a coating that’s crispy but not thick, and then pan-fries it. The most popular menu item is the Pop – five pieces, “generally a breast, thigh, leg, wing, back,” with fries or coleslaw and a Hawaiian roll or corn muffin.
Arizona: Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Cafe
- Location: Phoenix
This friendly establishment, which opened in 1964, has favorable comments from fans scrawled all over the walls, and was featured on the Food Network show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” They serve “chicken fried steak 7 days a week,” oxtails, pork chops, and fried catfish, but the thing to order here is the “golden brown Southern fried chicken,” with a side of black-eyed peas, red beans, or mac and cheese.
Arkansas: Monte Ne Inn
- Location: Rogers
Monte Ne, founded in 1901 by attorney and politician William Hope, was a planned community and health resort. Although it was abandoned a long time ago, it still has a legacy of being a popular dining destination for families, which serves nothing but fried chicken and a few sides and desserts. The restaurant invites diners to “enjoy our food ‘family style,” where everyone passes dishes around the table to share.
California: Dinah’s Chicken
- Location: Glendale
Founded in 1967, by Dave Pearson and his parents, and still owned by the Pearson family, this classic eatery specializes in chicken by the box (including boxes of livers or gizzards), as well as seafood, waffles, and side dishes. Their perfectly crispy chicken is deep-fried in a pressure cooker.
Colorado: Steuben’s Uptown
- Location: Denver
Steuben’s owner, Josh Wolkon, named his restaurant after a famous Boston restaurant owned by his great-uncles in the mid-20th century. They serve buttermilk-brined chicken and a Nashville hot version with a spicy bacon-brown sugar glaze. The complete dinner includes mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, and a biscuit (with the traditional bird) or sourdough toast (with the hot version). You can also get fried chicken and waffles here.
Connecticut: Greer’s Chicken
- Location: Bristol
Connecticut Magazine has called Greer’s fried chicken the best in the state for almost 60 years. The restaurant is small, but there are picnic tables available outside. They serve classic fried chicken or roasted chicken, offering the same in the form of chunks or nuggets. The menu also features wings, chicken sandwiches, and livers or gizzards, complimented by sides and dessert offerings.
Delaware: Walt’s Chicken Express
- Location: Wilmington (three locations)
Originally an ice cream parlor owned by Walter Samuels in the mid-1970s, Walt’s evolved into a restaurant offering a full menu centered around fried chicken. They serve meals, boxes, and individual pieces of chicken, along with several buffet options featuring Southern-style dishes, and a long list of sides. Be sure to save room for homemade cakes, peach cobbler, and banana pudding.
Florida: The Hangar Bay Café and Gallery
- Location: Atlantic Beach
The Hangar Bay Café and Gallery website says, “We are not a Japanese restaurant nor are we a Soul food place.” Nevertheless, the menu features ramen dishes and fried chicken, as well as sandwiches and seafood. The restaurant also has a “gallery” section that showcases aviation-themed lithographs, photos, and memorabilia.
Georgia: The Busy Bee Cafe
- Location: Atlanta
This classic downtown standby, founded in 1947, won the James Beard Foundation America’s Classics award last year. The menu features fried chicken marinated for 12 hours, baked chicken smothered in gravy, chicken and waffles, oxtail, pork chops, fried shrimp, and more. Sides include broccoli cheese casserole and cornbread dressing.
Hawaii: Chicken & Brisket
- Location: Pearl City (Oahu)
Restaurant owners Nolan West and Matt Tomita started their business as a ghost kitchen, selling only the two items listed in their name. They have since transitioned to a brick-and-mortar location. Their crispy fried chicken is coated with their signature sweet and salty “Yum” Korean chicken sauce, with a variety of dipping sauces available on the side.
The menu also includes chicken and smoked “Texas-inspired” brisket packs, as well as eclectic dishes like kalbi “carne asada” nachos and garlic paniolo butter shrimp.
Idaho: Han’s Chimaek
- Location: Boise
“Chimaek” is a combination word derived from the Korean terms for chicken and beer, a classic combination. In the common Korean style, the fried chicken here has a sharply crisp crust. The menu is straightforward, offering dark or white meat chicken pieces, wings, or fried tofu with a selection of sauces, with the recommended one being yangnyum or yangnyeom, a traditional sweet, spicy, and garlicky sauce. Sides include rice or coleslaw, and a small selection of tap and bottled beers.
Illinois: Gil’s Supper Club
- Location: Hanna City
When Gil’s opened in 1962, a fried chicken dinner – featuring pieces fried in a secret-recipe breading – cost $1.10 and included two sides. These days, the same meal is $15.25 ($16.75 for all white meat), yet it still accounts for about a third of all orders. The menu also offers chicken tenders, grilled chicken, chicken parmesan, chicken with catfish or walleye, chicken with spaghetti, three types of chicken salad, and a variety of other dishes.
Indiana: Wagner’s Village Inn
- Location: Oldenburg
This 55-year-old institution is in a 19th-century building that was once a general store in a small town midway between Indianapolis and Cincinnati, and has been praised by the IndyStar as “serving perhaps the Midwest’s best fried chicken.” Recently honored as one of the James Beard Foundation’s America’s Classics, Wagner’s fries its chicken in cast-iron skillets with pork fat.
The menu is simple, offering only a few appetizers and chicken dinners, which come with unlimited mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, and green beans.
Iowa: Bubba
- Location: Des Moines
Bubba offers a more upscale experience than many fried chicken places, specializing in Southern-accented “chef-driven comfort food” paired with craft cocktails, wines, and microbrews. Their organic brined chicken is fried to order and can be served hot, honey hot, or with country gravy. Each meal comes with read-and-butter pickles, garlic-buttermilk mashed potatoes, and two additional sides. The menu also includes chicken and dumplings, chicken and waffles, and Cajun chicken and sausage gumbo.
Kansas: Chicken House
- Location: Olpe
“Our famous home-style chicken” is the specialty here. The menu offers two-, three-, and four-piece assortments praised by one Yelp reviewer as “finger-licking must-have fried chicken.” Chicken dinners come with potatoes, salad, bread, and coffee or tea. KansasTravel describes Chicken House as a place where diners chat across the dining room, most men wear hats, and napkin dispensers are on the tables.
Kentucky: Merrick Inn
- Location: Lexington
Housed in the former manor of a horse farm famous for its prize-winning steeds, Merrick Inn has a diverse menu, featuring Maryland items like crab cakes, Green Goddess salad, and pecan-crusted pork tenderloin. They are especially known for their Southern fried chicken, hand-breaded “with love,” and served with a choice of two sides. Every Wednesday is Fried Chicken Night, offering a specially priced dinner of two chicken pieces, mashed potatoes with pan gravy, and two additional sides.
Louisiana: Willie Mae’s Scotch House
- Location: New Orleans
Recognized as one of America’s Classics by the James Beard Foundation, this renowned Southern restaurant, established in 1957, is famous for its classic fried chicken and chicken sandwich. The small menu also offers tenders, chicken salad, and baked chicken. (Willie Mae’s is temporarily closed due to a fire that gutted the place, but is expected to reopen sometime in 2024 – and the fried chicken is worth the wait. For those who can’t wait, there’s an offshoot in Venice, Louisiana called Willie Mae’s.)
Maine: Crispy Gài
- Location: Portland
Crispy Gài offers a unique take on fried chicken. Chicken thighs and drumsticks are brined, fried extra crispy, and scattered with fried shallots in the style of the city of Hat Yai in southern Thailand. Hat Yai wings are also offered, along with Gaeng Pèt wings (coated in red curry) and Sichuan wings (with mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns). The menu includes a variety of sauces and a selection of other Thai dishes.
Maryland: Silver Queen Cafe
- Location: Baltimore
This family-friendly spot serves pizzas (though none with chicken, there is a version with slow-roasted duck and duck cracklings) and a small but diverse menu of Southern-inspired dishes. Highlights include the outstanding Maryland fried chicken, which is crisp and golden brown, topped with herb-flavored gravy, and served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and braised greens or a sautéed vegetable.
Massachusetts: Buttermilk & Bourbon
- Location: Boston and Watertown
This popular two-location restaurant brings a taste of New Orleans through its decor, featuring tin ceilings and Crescent City-themed murals, and a significant portion of its menu, including appetizers like BBQ shrimp with andouille and desserts like beignets. The house specialty is buttermilk fried chicken – available as wings or boneless thighs – served Nashville hot-style, sweet and spicy, with BBQ syrup, or white BBQ sauce.
Michigan: Iva’s Chicken Dinners
- Location: Sterling
Iva Ousterhout began serving chicken dinners to oil rig workers staying at her boarding house in 1938. Now in its fourth generation of family ownership, the restaurant has expanded its menu to include steak, fried walleye, and a few other main dishes. But chicken is still the star – offered stewed if preferred, but primarily as Southern fried, rolled in flour, then pan-fried and steamed in a cast iron skillet. If you order the family-style option, the chicken is unlimited, complemented by numerous side dishes.
Minnesota: The Coop
- Location: South St. Paul
This neighborhood favorite, originally a grocery store and restaurant in the 1940s and known as The Coop since 1963, specializes in fried chicken dinners, individual pieces, and a chicken and smoked rib combo. The menu also has sandwiches, including burgers, hot dogs, a crispy chicken breast option, chicken wings, and more. There are also specially priced deals on chicken items five nights a week.
Mississippi: Old Country Store
- Location: Lorman
According to NatchezTraceTravel, “People travel for hours to partake of [the] ‘Heavenly Fried Chicken’” at this rustic joint northeast of Natchez, which originally opened as a country store in 1875. The chicken is the best part of the all-you-can-eat buffet, served daily from 10 a.m. until early evening. TV food personality Alton Brown, who has visited, claims that this is the only fried chicken he’ll eat besides his own.
Missouri: Lula Southern Cookhouse
- Location: Kansas City
Named the best fried chicken restaurant in the state by lovefood.com, Lula Southern Cookhouse adds a twist to old Southern classics. Chef Owner Bradley Gilmore, along with co-owners Brittany Socha Gilmore & Chef Brandon West, bring North Carolina flair to the restaurant named after Gilmore’s grandmother. The menu rotates but summer offerings include fried chicken gizzards, chicken necks and backs, and Arnold Palmer chicken wings.
Montana: Roost
- Location: Bozeman
Roost co-owner and “head rooster” Joe Darr comes from a Tennessee restaurant with locations in Lookout Valley and Rossville, Georgia – the latter known for its fried chicken. When Darr and his wife moved to Bozeman about a decade ago, they decided to open a small restaurant featuring fried chicken and homemade biscuits. The chicken is available bone-in or boneless, prepared in classic Southern, Nashville hot, or “sweet heat” styles. The menu also includes fried chicken sandwiches with comeback sauce.
Nebraska: Lee’s Chicken Restaurant
- Location: Lincoln
Originally established as a beer and burger joint in the early 1930s, Lee’s was bought by Lee and Alice Franks in 1945. They added fried chicken to the menu and gradually expanded the place to accommodate up to 400 customers. Paul and Janice Wilcoxen bought it from the couple in 1969 but kept the name Lee’s. While there are other items on the menu, the main attraction here is still fried chicken, served in various portion sizes. They also offer a chicken sandwich, chicken tenders, livers, and gizzards.
Nevada: Honey Salt
- Location: Las Vegas
Opened in 2012 by Elizabeth Blau and Kim Canteenwalla, Honey Salt has a small but varied menu featuring dishes like blue crab fondue, turkey meatballs, and shrimp scampi linguine. However, the standout dish here is the buttermilk fried chicken, which comes with mac and cheese, coleslaw, hot sauce, and honey. For a lighter option, the menu includes a roasted Jidori chicken with Desert Moon mushrooms and black truffle grits.
New Hampshire: Sweet Chix Kitchen
- Location: North Hampton
Founded in 2020 by restaurateur Sandra Makmann and chef Stevie Driscoll, Sweet Chix originally operated out of the Country View Restaurant in Greenland, before relocating to its new location the following year. Their specialty is chicken marinated in sweet tea brine and coated in lavender/thyme breading, available in pieces, strips, or as a whole bird (cut-up). The menu also features gluten-free and plant-based options, as well as chicken sandwiches and chicken and waffles.
New Jersey: Henri’s Hotts Barbecue
- Location: Hammonton
Doug Henri started his barbecue venture as a food truck in 2006 and made the transition to a brick-and-mortar establishment two years later. He earned a reputation as one of the region’s top pitmasters, especially famous for his ribs and pulled pork. Tragically, Henri died from complications of COVID-19, but his widow, Ruthie, reopened the place, which continues to thrive.
In addition to pork, brisket, and some other dishes, Henri’s features smoked chicken and jerk chicken. But the best thing on the menu may be the “Super Chicken,” Southern fried and described as “perfectly seasoned and mouthwatering to the bone.”
New Mexico: Nexus Brewery and Restaurant
- Location: Albuquerque
Ken Carson makes acclaimed craft beers like New Mexico Snow Storm IPA and Lush Imperial Stout. He has also developed a menu of what he dubs “New Mexico Soul Food,” designed to complement his diverse brews. This includes standout dishes like Southern fried chicken and waffles and NM Hot Chicken – a variation on the Nashville classic with added red chiles and cayenne. Fried boneless breasts are also available, served smothered in white gravy with mashed potatoes and collard greens.
New York: Hattie’s
- Location: Saratoga Springs (three locations)
Originally founded by Louisiana native Hattie Gray as the Chicken Shack in downtown Saratoga Springs in 1938, the local institution now bears her name. The place has a dedicated following, with two additional locations in town (including a seasonal spot at the famous Saratoga Springs racetrack), and plans for an Albany branch soon. “Hattie’s Famous Fried Chicken,” featuring breast, wing, thigh, and leg, with two sides, available “Nashville hot” upon request is the star attraction.
The menu also offers regular or hot chicken sandwiches and “Good ‘n Evil Chicken Wings,” described as a perfect balance of sweet & hot flavors. You can also get fried chicken baked into biscuit-crust mac and cheese.
North Carolina: Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack
- Location: Asheville
Rocky’s pays tribute to “Nashville style” hot chicken and Southern soul food, according to its website. They serve a range of chicken combinations in eight levels of heat, from mild to extra hot. Also on the menu are wings, chicken and waffles, grilled and rotisserie chicken, and chicken pot pie. There is a second location in Arden, just south of Asheville, and another one in Greenville, South Carolina.
North Dakota: Brew Bird
- Location: Fargo
“We are a group of creatives who love food, adult beverages, and throwing parties,” declares the founders of this lively restaurant located in a converted tow-truck station. Specializing in chicken tenders and boneless chicken breasts fried exclusively in a gluten-free coating, the menu offers a variety of sauces. One is the Hot as Cluck breast, which features a habanero hot sauce, that is labeled “Spicy – Not meant for Scandinavians.”
Ohio: White House Chicken
- Location: Barberton
Barberton proudly calls itself the “Chicken Capital of the World,” in honor of its four chicken-focused restaurants originally opened by Serbian immigrants. Together, these restaurants serve nearly eight tons of fresh chicken each week. The menu is entirely dedicated to chicken in various forms and sides, with the essential one being “hot sauce,” which is rice served in a spicy gravy.
According to the White House menu, “In the 1950s, 4 pieces of Legendary Barberton Chicon, Original Hot Sauce (rice), vinaigrette Cole Slaw and Fresh Cut French Fries put White House Chicken on the map!” The restaurant has now expanded with additional locations in Green and Wadsworth, Ohio.
Oklahoma: Roy’s Fried Chicken
- Location: Coweta
This simple restaurant offers chicken dinners, boxes, family packs, boneless chunks, sides, drinks, and desserts in a cozy, family-owned place with window service that has been frying chicken for over 3 decades. The mac and cheese gets great reviews as the best side dish on the menu.
Oregon: FOMO Chicken
- Location: Portland
For the folks who love traditional Southern fried chicken and others who prefer sweet and/or spicy Korean chicken, FOMO Chicken has both groups covered. The converted food truck has a concise menu that includes boneless chicken options with mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and corn, alongside spicy or sweet garlic Korean versions with rice and pickled radish. The menu also features chicken strips, chicken sandwiches, and wings prepared in any of the three styles.
Pennsylvania: Love & Honey Fried Chicken
- Location: Philadelphia
Todd and Laura Lyons opened their restaurant in 2017 with a vision of bringing professional chef skills and techniques to comfort food classics like fried chicken. They use antibiotic- and hormone-free birds humanely raised by Coleman Natural Foods in Delaware, used for their fried chicken pieces, wings, and tenders. Offerings also include regular and Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, and sides like pimento cheese dip and Nashville tater tots with ranch dressing.
Rhode Island: Honeybird Chicken & Cocktails
- Location: East Providence
Inspired by the food they had while visiting their son at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, Nick and Tracy Rabar decided to bring those same flavors to the Northeast. The menu has pimento cheese, fried green tomatoes, and hushpuppies, among other things. Their excellent fried chicken is available as pieces, wings, or tenders, with coatings that include traditional, spicy, Nashville hot, honey Cholula, or garlic parmesan.
South Carolina: Bernie’s Chicken
- Location: Columbia
Founded in 1979, Bernie’s is among many fried chicken places nationwide that describe their chicken as “broasted.” This cooking method involves frying in oil within a pressure cooker, keeping the meat moist without making the exterior greasy. There are burgers and (non-chicken) sandwiches on the menu, but the spotlight falls on the fried chicken dinners in assorted sizes, that come with fries, cole slaw, and a roll.
South Dakota: Mama’s Phried & Phillys
- Location: Sioux Falls
Owned by Jayme and Matt Mothershead, this unique restaurant specializes in fried chicken and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. The menu on the wall behind the counter doesn’t offer much more than chicken by the piece or in baskets with fries, cheesesteaks, and a few sides, including country-style potato salad.
Both the chicken and the cheesesteak are made with Matt’s family recipes. The Mothersheads like to keep it simple, and they also own Mama’s Ladas, which serves almost nothing but enchiladas.
Tennessee: Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken
- Location: Memphis
Napoleon “Na” Vanderbilt and his wife, Maggie, began selling fried chicken out of a tavern’s back door in Mason, Tennessee, northeast of Memphis, in 1953. They opened a restaurant in the community 20 years later. Na’s son, Vernon “Gus” Bonner, took the place over and renamed it for himself. In 2001, with Gus’s blessing, a longtime customer opened this Memphis offshoot, now one of two in the city.
The original Mason establishment is still operational, but there are now 40 locations nationwide, from New Orleans to Chicago to L.A. Chicken plates come with baked beans, slaw, and white bread.
Texas: Street’s Fine Chicken
- Location: Dallas (two locations)
With two locations in Dallas, Street’s is located on the site of the beloved Black-eyed Pea, co-founded by Gene Street. Their fried chicken is cooked to order and the menu notes a 20-30 minute wait time. Other offerings include fried chicken sandwiches, crispy tenders, and chicken “lollipops” (smoked and fried drumsticks). They also feature chicken roasted with herbes de Provence or marinated in spicy Portuguese peri peri sauce.
Utah: Sauce Boss Southern Kitchen
- Location: Draper
Julius Thompson, a former pharmacy technician who transitioned to culinary school, initially opened an Italian-themed food truck with his wife. In 2019, they launched this brick-and-mortar restaurant, to pay tribute to traditional cooking, which he describes as “Soul Food” or “Southern” cuisine. The menu includes appetizers, main dishes, and sides based on that theme. T
Thompson serves wings, either blackened or blackened and fried, along with classic fried chicken (drumstick and boneless thigh, breaded with herbs and spices and served with maple hot sauce) and chicken-fried chicken – a pounded and breaded boneless chicken breast with gravy. All entrées come with two sides and cornbread.
Vermont: GameBird
- Location: Ludlow
Chef-owner Weston Nicoll brags that he can “fry the hell out of a chicken.” The results are available as a quarter, half, or whole bird, served with deviled eggs and pickles on the side. There’s also the signature sandwich, “The Coquette (The Stoltzfus),” that features fried chicken with two sauces: a horseradish-spiked mayo and a mayo-ketchup blend with fermented Korean chile paste.
Virginia: Wayside Ole’ Virginia Fried Chicken
- Location: Charlottesville
Proprietor Calvin Cummings bought this iconic Charlottesville restaurant in 2004, though it’s been around for over 50 years. “Chicken fried and baked” is available in meals with sides, family packs, boxes, and by the piece. Offerings also include a variety of chicken sandwiches, as well as fried shrimp, clams, and fish.
Washington: Ma’Ono Fried Chicken
- Location: Seattle (four locations)
How about fried chicken with a tropical twist? Ma’Ono serves Hawaiian-style, with Kewpie mayo and described as “Crispy Juicy Aloha.” Ma’Ono locations are kiosks inside other establishments, including the iconic Admiral Benbow Room dive bar in West Seattle and Rachel’s Ginger Beer outposts in University Village, South Lake Union, and Capitol Hill.
Key menu items include fried chicken drumsticks or fingers and fried chicken breast on pulled BBQ kalua chicken on a Hawaiian bun. Gluten-free versions are available with 24 hours’ notice.
West Virginia: Dirty Bird
- Location: Morgantown
At this modest counter-service restaurant, expect a 15-minute wait for your freshly made chicken. Available in two-, four-, and six-piece boxes with various piece combinations, each one is made to order. For larger appetites or gatherings, there are also eight-, 12-, and 20-piece buckets. Chicken tenders and chicken and waffles are also on the menu, along with eight different fried chicken sandwiches.
Wisconsin: The Cozzy Corner
- Location: Appleton
Natasha Banks and her family run this Southern food haven, and though it was originally intended to be named “Cozy Corner,” the name was already taken, so they adjusted the spelling. They offer traditional fried, as well as BBQ fried chicken, smoked BBQ chicken, wings, gizzards, and chicken and waffles.
The menu also features various other meats, including frogs’ legs and catfish. Chicken is also part of four multi-protein platters, such as the King’s Platter which includes ribs, pork, sausage, two sides, and cornbread.
Wyoming: Gather
- Location: Jackson
Graeme and Christine Mara Swain, originally from Omaha, moved to Jackson and opened Gather in 2014, offering “chic-mountain ambiance and modern eclectic cuisine.” The menu is diverse featuring house-made bao buns with braised pork belly and house-made pasta with elk bolognese. A standout dish is their fried chicken, brined in buttermilk and served with pepper honey and three-cheese mornay sauce. It’s accompanied by cavatappi noodles, hot sauce, and Fresno chiles.