Double Chicken Please… Worth that line?
If you’re a big foodie like me, you probably have a Yelp page with a bunch of bookmarked spots you want to check out (or saved somewhere on Google). I personally have over 350 bookmarked restaurants, bars, clubs, shops, etc. and the list only seems to get larger. Every attempt to knock out my bookmark list, it never seems to shrink, thanks to friends recommendations. In December 2022, my friend Sebastian heard about a spot that made amazing fried chicken sandwiches and Key Lime Pie cocktail. Upon a quick Google search, I was immediately sold and added another spot to my Yelp bookmark. After all, it was voted as number two on the 2023 World’s 50 Best Bars rankings (up four spots from 2022) and the number one bar in the 2023 North America’s 50 Best Bars Awards.
There are two rooms: the front room and the back room (called The Coop). Two different experiences. The front room is walk in only, first-come, first-served. The back room you may reserve on RESY up to six days in advance, where reservations open at midnight, or by waiting in line. Snagging a reservation is like trying to book a reservation at Carbone. So, Sebastian and I waited in line in the freezing December cold for about an hour and got a seat at the bar in the front room. It would have been an additional 90-minute wait to get a seat in the back room.
Although the food menu is the same for both the front and back room, the drink menu is exclusive depending on which room you agree to be seated in. The front room serves handcrafted draft cocktails, called “taptails”, served via tap system. Here, the drinks are number #1 through #13, subject to change based on seasonality. I tried #13, consisting of Acqua di Cedro, cold brew coffee, shiso, yuzu, and agave. At first it tasted like drinking celery juice from the first few sips, but then the cold brew coffee taste kicks in. Although that may not sound appetizing, it shows how creative the drinks are and the different tastes you can experience in a drink. The back room serves those sought after handcrafted signature cocktails. You can order drinks that somehow will tastes like what they’re called such as Mango Sticky Rice and Key Lime Pie (this is based off my other friends who were lucky enough to sit in the back room).
Besides the cocktails, it is also worth grabbing their famous chicken sandwiches. The Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich is to die for. Served with that delicious buttermilk fried chicken combined with their Thai Basil sauce, you would think you were eating a Pad Thai in a chicken sandwich form. Remember the intense Chicken Sandwich War between Popeyes and Chick-Fil-A? Forget about it. Double Chicken Please blows the competition out of the water.
