Evanston Chicken Shack-revisit

Hadn't been here for years and was craving some fried chicken. We ordered fried chicken, buffalo wings, red beans and rice and biscuits. The place has not changed a bit except for the personnel. I wonder if it has changed ownership. The fried chicken was 'OK"-nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary. The coating was crisp yet had no flavor. The chicken was moist. The wings were pigeon-sized. The buffalo wings were nearly inedible. They were not wings but rather 'pieces'-they just split the wings in half. The fries were crinkle cut and were fine. My daughter who loves these did not finish and there were no other takers so we ended up throwing out two 'pieces'. The ranch (!?!)sauce was watered down but the celery stalks were fresh and crisp. The red beans and rice was the biggest disappointment. It was basically canned red beans placed on top of rice. No other ingredients or added flavours. The biscuits were a bit dry. They forgot our hot sauce which did not help the overall impression. The place was busy-so we must have ordered the wrong things. The menu is extensive. I am not in a hurry to return.

The Chicken Shack AKA Evanston Chicken Shack
1925 N Ridge Ave, Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-9360
http://www.evanstonchickenshack.com/

I went to Chicken Shack in June when I was shopping for my Weber Smoker at the Backyard BBQ store in Evanston (nice place by the way). The main thing I remember about Chicken Shack was the ludicrously massive amount of food we got for the price… I picked up the bag and started laughing because it felt like there was a cinder block in there. The chicken itself was very juicy and perfectly salted, if a bit soggy in the skin. It was also very simply spiced and "clean" tasting, which may not be to everyone's taste. I like a little more spicing in my fried chicken so Chicken Shack isn’t quite a favorite, but it's a decent place nonetheless.

eating while walking wrote:I went to Chicken Shack in June when I was shopping for my Weber Smoker at the Backyard BBQ store in Evanston (nice place by the way).

I didn't know Backyard BBQ opened a store in Evanston. Can you tell us what the address is?

My mistake, now that I check it's actually in Wilmette:

1147 Greenleaf Ave
Wilmette, IL 60091

I like the chicken shack! The store itself has some retrograde charm, with a couple red checkerboard table "cloths" and consumer grade paper towels at the sink in the hallway. You're right about the wings being small, although I recently noticed this at Buffalo Joe's in Evanston as well--maybe it's a north shore thing? Or perhaps evidence of natural poultry raising techniques. Either way, you're right about the fries, which are basically disposable, Ore-Ida crinkle cut. The mashed potato upgrade isn't much to write home about either, although the gravy is good with the biscuits.

For my money, the real stars here are the hot and (for the sweet-toothed) barbecue sauces, slathered on the fried chicken legs and thighs. The whole fried chicken breasts are too dry, and their size throws the breading-to-meat ratio off. (I noticed this recently at the much more august Big Jones as well.)

I don't have any inside info about the ownership changing, but I do remember hearing a guy who seemed to be an owner explaining to a cashier here his rationale for not accepting credit cards, which was basically that it allowed him to keep costs down .10 to .20¢ per item. That said, I half-remember seeing an iPad type cash register set up last time, so maybe their policy has changed? Elfin would have better info. Also, beverages are limited to vending machines cans of 7Up, etc.

I just had carry out from Evanston Chicken Shack. I'm happy to say that they still are cranking out chicken at the same level as always. Evidently I wasn't the only person who decided on fried chicken tonight. The parking lot was jammed. Things were crazy inside, too, but my order was ready right at the time promised. I put it in the car and drove home as fast as I could (never exceeding the speed limit, of course ). The chicken was still hot and crispy when I got there. I always forget how much I like their chicken. It was great again tonight.

We spent yesterday with nearly two dozen friends from Roadfood.com doing a food tour of Evanston. Starting at Hoosier Mama Pie Company, we then headed north to Taco Diablo, skipped next door neighbor Lulu's Noodles and walked to Edzo's, walked back to Lulu's Noodles, dropped down to Frio Gelato for a palate refresher, then gathered at the tour organizer's home where (here's where it gets relevant to the thread topic) we brought in pans of Fried Chicken and Shrimp from Evanston Chicken Shack.

All that prologue leads to my assessment of ECS's Chicken as among the best I've had. The fact that we were able to appreciate it at all after everything consumed at the first five stops (plus a dozen shared donuts from DB3 while we waited for the arrival of the Chicken & Shrimp) should be testament enough as to it's stand out quality.

But I'll go on.

Even with full bellies we recognized the light thin coating that starts out with an appealing crackle and gives way to a full flavored, melt in your mouth texture. After getting past the skin, the thigh meat was piping hot, tender and moist with rich dark meat chicken flavor. I won't challenge the OP's criticisms of ECS. I'll just say everybody has an off day every once in a while and you must have hit it just right (that is to say "wrong").

The Shrimp was also very good. Because we still had two stops to go, we focused on the proteins and skipped all the sides, so can't comment on those. All I can say is, if Fried Chicken is your passion, Evanston Chicken Shack is an absolute must stop.

Buddy

Hoosier Mama
749 Chicago Ave., Evanston

Taco Diablo
1026 Davis Street, Evanston

Edzo's
1571 Sherman Avenue, Evanston

Lulu's
1026 Davis Street, Evanston

Frio Gelato
1301 Chicago Avenue, Evanston

DB3 Donuts
1704 Central Street, Evanston

Evanston Chicken Shack
1925 Ridge Avenue, Evanston

BuddyRoadhouse wrote: All I can say is, if Fried Chicken is your passion, Evanston Chicken Shack is an absolute must stop.

Buddy, Seldom have I agreed more with a post!

From Evanston Chicken Shack + Usmania for Paya
Evanston Chicken Shack is a GNR, a gem, a deal and anyone with the slightest interest in delicious fried chicken should visit sooner rather than later.



Evanston Chicken Shack, Count me a Fan!

I also love love love Hoosier Mama and Edzo's. Sounds like your group had a great time.

Hey Buddy,
Awesome post. Thats a well-curated list of Evanston eats (except no breweries?)

Question: was this a social thing, or can we expect to see an article in Roadfood about E-Town soon?

champs,
Here's a a link to the entire thread, from the planning stages through the ongoing trip report and evaluation: http://forums.roadfood.com/A-Roadfood-Evanston-Day-July-29-2018-m872867.aspx

In case you're wondering, there's a group of us from the Chicago and Milwaukee areas who get together on a semi-regular basis to explore each other's cities. One or more people will get an idea for a tour theme; sometimes based on a specific neighborhood, other times based on an ethnic commonality, sometimes it's just a few cool places we've heard about recently that strikes our fancy.

For instance last month my daughter, abe_froeman, put together a northwest side tour built around a final stop at Honey Butter Fried Chicken. Prior to that we visited Bang Bang Pie Shop, Red Hot Ranch, Pizza y Pan Pa'Ya, and Taqueria El Potosi. Here's a link to that thread: http://forums.roadfood.com/SATURDAY-JUNE-2nd-Honey-Butter-Fried-Chickencentered-trip-m869572.aspx

Our group goes by the name The Contingent. We've been doing these tours in Chicago, Milwaukee, and their surrounding areas (as far west as our "Fox River Valley Taqueria Tour", and beyond) for ten years or more. We also try to do quarterly visits to a Wisconsin Supper Club, Fish Fry, or Steak House, although we missed our spring opportunity and are now trying to settle on a summer date and location.

Anyone interested in hanging with us, or looking for additional information, should hop on over to Roadfood.com and check out the Eat & Greets Forum. Look for any thread with "The Contingent" in the title and that's us.

Glad you liked my evaluation. Hope to see you at a future Contingent event!

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:champs,
Our group goes by the name The Contingent. We've been doing these tours in Chicago, Milwaukee, and their surrounding areas (as far west as our "Fox River Valley Taqueria Tour", and beyond) for ten years or more. We also try to do quarterly visits to a Wisconsin Supper Club, Fish Fry, or Steak House, although we missed our spring opportunity and are now trying to settle on a summer date and location.

Anyone interested in hanging with us, or looking for additional information, should hop on over to Roadfood.com and check out the Eat & Greets Forum. Look for any thread with "The Contingent" in the title and that's us.

Glad you liked my evaluation. Hope to see you at a future Contingent event!

Buddy

Also on Facebook, though it's mostly just notification of upcoming trips posted there. Most of the discussion happens on Roadfood.