Airline chicken breast?

Went with our closest friends to a new place, Pleeze, in a Highland Park. The service slow as expected, no problem.

So I order this brick chicken dish, menu says its a half chicken. Meal comes and it's a breast with a small wing bone. It was good, but I was a bit surprised/disappointed. I like bringing home leftovers for lunch.

Manager asks how everything is so I tell him I was expecting a half chicken and he goes oh no, it's just a breast. I ask him to double check. So he looks at the menu, then comes over to tell me the new menu has a typo and shouldn't say half chicken. I say I'm disappointed, so he says the owner will be right over.

Owner comes over and he says, it's a large 10oz breast, "airline" style. I was expecting a half chicken like the menu said. He kind of wasn't accepting my point, asked if I'd ever been to XYZ place, they do it that way there. I tell him no, haven't been there, and I was expecting a half chicken, looked forward to the dark meat. I told him I certainly wouldn't have ordered this dish at this price if I'd known it was a breast. Ultimately hs offers to get me another meal, but I don't want to do that, I LIKE the chicken but wanted him to acknowledge the mistake. Don't imply I'm wrong because you gave me an airline breast. Didn't really get a concession but ultimately he offers to pick up dessert, and that's that. But weird guy.

There was no attitude, or tone, or anything, just wanted him to say like "oops, our bad, sorry" but when he went on about the large breast I couldn't give in.

So is "airline breast" (10 oz vs usual 6 oz breast) really a thing?

Food was very tasty, nice feel to the room, jazz guitar began around 9:30 ish.

sujormik wrote:Went with our closest friends to a new place, Pleeze, in a Highland Park. The service slow as expected, no problem.

So I order this brick chicken dish, menu says its a half chicken. Meal comes and it's a breast with a small wing bone. It was good, but I was a bit surprised/disappointed. I like bringing home leftovers for lunch.

Manager asks how everything is so I tell him I was expecting a half chicken and he goes oh no, it's just a breast. I ask him to double check. So he looks at the menu, then comes over to tell me the new menu has a typo and shouldn't say half chicken. I say I'm disappointed, so he says the owner will be right over.

Owner comes over and he says, it's a large 10oz breast, "airline" style. I was expecting a half chicken like the menu said. He kind of wasn't accepting my point, asked if I'd ever been to XYZ place, they do it that way there. I tell him no, haven't been there, and I was expecting a half chicken, looked forward to the dark meat. I told him I certainly wouldn't have ordered this dish at this price if I'd known it was a breast. Ultimately hs offers to get me another meal, but I don't want to do that, I LIKE the chicken but wanted him to acknowledge the mistake. Don't imply I'm wrong because you gave me an airline breast. Didn't really get a concession but ultimately he offers to pick up dessert, and that's that. But weird guy.

There was no attitude, or tone, or anything, just wanted him to say like "oops, our bad, sorry" but when he went on about the large breast I couldn't give in.

So is "airline breast" (10 oz vs usual 6 oz breast) really a thing?

Food was very tasty, nice feel to the room, jazz guitar began around 9:30 ish.

The owner doesn't sound like the sharpest knife in the drawer and he seems like a terrible business person, too. At least the manager admitted there was an error on the menu. Only in Highland Park does a half-chicken not include dark meat. Apparently, they're going to re-write the book on this. I'll pass on Pleeze, thank you very much.

Start the clock on this place . . .

=R=

It's real...

http://www.culinarylore.com/cooking-ter ... urant-menu

plark wrote:It's real...

http://www.culinarylore.com/cooking-ter ... urant-menu

Indeed it is. Many years ago, I made deliveries for a wholesale poultry company. Most of our deliveries of airline breasts went to hotels and banquet halls.

ronnie_suburban wrote:The owner doesn't sound like the sharpest knife in the drawer and he seems like a terrible business person, too. At least the manager admitted there was an error on the menu. Only in Highland Park does a half-chicken not include dark meat. Apparently, they're going to re-write the book on this. I'll pass on Pleeze, thank you very much.

Start the clock on this place . . .

=R=

No dog in the fight for me, no ill wishes towards "Pleeze." In my lifetime, however, a breast and half of a wing would be considered LESS THAN a quarter of a yardbird.

ronnie_suburban wrote: Only in Highland Park does a half-chicken not include dark meat. Apparently, they're going to re-write the book on this. I'll pass on Pleeze, thank you very much.

Start the clock on this place . . .

Of course, it has nothing to do with Highland Park. The people here are hardly shrinking violets who will quietly accept this. The owner will either wake up and adjust his offering or menu, though this idea of redefining a half-chicken as a breast is exclusively his own doing and perhaps undoing.

It was interesting there is cut out there called 'airline chicken breast,' you learn something new every day.

Regards,

This cut is also popular on cruise ships... And even they do not refer to it as a half chicken.

Thank you all, I wondered if something was wrong with me!

Everything tasted good, Ronnie, I'm definitely not looking to pan the place on its first weekend, don't pass because of my comments since I know your opinion carries a lot of weight ip here. And none of this was contentious (I swear I wasn't being HP-ish if you know what I mean and I suspect you do). I was put off and needed to get clarity but really don't want the place to fail because of this!

Personally not a fan of Airline Chicken, just a fancy way of saying white meat.

At Barn & Company we serve a brined/smoked bone-in half chicken. A few weeks ago one of the servers came over with a perplexed look on her face and says there's a fellow at 404 who is 'expressing annoyance' that our menu states half chicken and he was served simply a breast. She politely explained it was a half chicken, he expressed annoyance in a more assertive fashion. She asked if I would please speak to him.

Its a dad with a young, maybe 6-year-old, daughter in a sparkly dress and she is quite animated, happy, excited as they are going to see Fancy Nancy at the Apollo Theater, which is just down the street. He does not seem to be in the same happy mood as his daughter and as I walk up in my chef coat he says "so they got out the big guns" and what do we propose to do about the chicken breast on his plate.

As I walk up I take a good look and as suspected its a nice size bone-in half chicken. At Barn & Co we have a strict never argue customer is always right policy, if someone does not like something, happens, not often, but it happens, we whisk it way, take it off the bill and offer something else on the house.

I put a smile on my face and said while we have a strict policy of customer is always right, in this instance I have to break protocol as that is indeed a half chicken on the plate. He was not convinced, one again expressed annoyance, folded his arms across his chest and gave me a look.

I smiled, told his daughter she looked pretty, indicated toward his knife and fork asked "may I" and proceeded to cut his chicken into 4 pieces, leg/thigh and the breast in half. He looked at the plate, looked at me, put on his glasses and looked at the plate again. He was still not particularly happy, but did agree it was indeed a half chicken.

In the interest of good customer relations I offered to get him something else, he declined and said he was in the mood for chicken. I then offered to bring out a skillet cookie with ice cream for dessert, a sure fire hit with kids, and once again he declined saying they were running late for the show.

I'm pretty good at smoothing the waters, but this fellow was simply in a mood. Makes for a good, if somewhat lengthy, story though.

Regards,
Gary Wiviott
Pitmaster, Barn & Company

Airline chix breast = 1980's banquet.

Cathy2 wrote:Of course, it has nothing to do with Highland Park.

Well, I wouldn't necessarily say that. First of all, HP isn't exactly a hotbed for dining out. And, it's home to a relatively health-conscious crowd that reveres its white meat -- and for whom the absence of dark meat is probably more readily accepted than in many other places. But the bottom line is that a half-chicken includes a drumstick and a thigh (along with the breast and wing). This is anatomy that cannot be re-written. Hopefully, these folks come to their senses and at least change their menu to reflect what's actually being served there.

=R=

Truthfull menus. My nemesis. http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4749

G Wiv wrote:Personally not a fan of Airline Chicken, just a fancy way of saying white meat.

At Barn & Company we serve a brined/smoked bone-in half chicken. A few weeks ago one of the servers came over with a perplexed look on her face and says there's a fellow at 404 who is 'expressing annoyance' that our menu states half chicken and he was served simply a breast. She politely explained it was a half chicken, he expressed annoyance in a more assertive fashion. She asked if I would please speak to him.

Its a dad with a young, maybe 6-year-old, daughter in a sparkly dress and she is quite animated, happy, excited as they are going to see Fancy Nancy at the Apollo Theater, which is just down the street. He does not seem to be in the same happy mood as his daughter and as I walk up in my chef coat he says "so they got out the big guns" and what do we propose to do about the chicken breast on his plate.

As I walk up I take a good look and as suspected its a nice size bone-in half chicken. At Barn & Co we have a strict never argue customer is always right policy, if someone does not like something, happens, not often, but it happens, we whisk it way, take it off the bill and offer something else on the house.

I put a smile on my face and said while we have a strict policy of customer is always right, in this instance I have to break protocol as that is indeed a half chicken on the plate. He was not convinced, one again expressed annoyance, folded his arms across his chest and gave me a look.

I smiled, told his daughter she looked pretty, indicated toward his knife and fork asked "may I" and proceeded to cut his chicken into 4 pieces, leg/thigh and the breast in half. He looked at the plate, looked at me, put on his glasses and looked at the plate again. He was still not particularly happy, but did agree it was indeed a half chicken.

In the interest of good customer relations I offered to get him something else, he declined and said he was in the mood for chicken. I then offered to bring out a skillet cookie with ice cream for dessert, a sure fire hit with kids, and once again he declined saying they were running late for the show.

I'm pretty good at smoothing the waters, but this fellow was simply in a mood. Makes for a good, if somewhat lengthy, story though.

Regards,
Gary Wiviott
Pitmaster, Barn & Company

Sorry but this story is one I hate to believe as a vegetarian. Did he really not know what a half chicken looks like? I just can't with this guy.
And this is why I do my darndest to be kind to folks serving me. This would make me batty.

You handled it like a champ Gary and yeah, I am glad you let him know he was wrong.

sujormik wrote:So is "airline breast" (10 oz vs usual 6 oz breast) really a thing?

Yes, but it has nothing to do with size; see below.

Cathy2 wrote:It was interesting there is cut out there called 'airline chicken breast,' you learn something new every day.

I was not familiar with the term, either (and it seems like an odd one, given the prevailing perception of airline food). Citing an article in our Trib, Wikipedia defines it thus:

Wikipedia wrote:Airline chicken is a food dish comprising a boneless chicken breast with the drumette attached. Skin on breast with 1st wing joint and tenderloin attached, otherwise boneless.

As you can see from the definition, this is NOT the same as a half chicken, which also includes the wing and thigh (as Ronnie notes) and can be bone-in or boneless.

If it's a half chicken, call it a half chicken. If it's not a half chicken, call it whatever it actually is.

The attached wing is why it's called "airline" breast.

Jazzfood wrote:The attached wing is why it's called "airline" breast.

I figured it was because being mostly boneless, it was an easy cut to eat on an airplane.

=R=

The only time I've ever seen airline chicken in Chicago was at Chief O'Neills'.

nsxtasy wrote:

sujormik wrote:So is "airline breast" (10 oz vs usual 6 oz breast) really a thing?

Yes, but it has nothing to do with size; see below.

One of the points the owner made was that a regularly served breast is 6 oz but this is like a super breast at 10 oz. I honestly just wanted him to admit the menu was in error and he wouldn't. The donut holes he comped us for dessert were nice but I'd have preferred the moral victory lol.

sujormik wrote:The donut holes he comped us for dessert

See, I would have been like, "What the hell are these gobs of dough? Your menu says donut holes...."

Octarine wrote:The only time I've ever seen airline chicken in Chicago was at Chief O'Neills'.

Or Chalkboard in Lincoln Square.

One of the hotel chains - and I can't remember which one atm often features "Airline Breast" on their menu as if it was a thing we'd welcome ... always amuses me when I see it.

I'd heard of "airline chicken" before; it's a thing, but it's not half a chicken, so they need to change the text in their menu, and the manager should have been courteous enough, not to mention savvy enough, to acknowledge as much. This seems to me to be all this is about and not worth the usual bashing of Highland Park residents. No one's at fault here except the person who refused to acknowledge that the dish was not described correctly on the menu.

sujormik wrote:Went with our closest friends to a new place, Pleeze, in a Highland Park. The service slow as expected, no problem.

Only part that confuses me is why you'd expect slow service.

riddlemay wrote:

sujormik wrote:Went with our closest friends to a new place, Pleeze, in a Highland Park. The service slow as expected, no problem.

Only part that confuses me is why you'd expect slow service.

Because they'd just opened?

=R=

Katie wrote:. . .and the manager should have been courteous enough, not to mention savvy enough, to acknowledge as much.

The manager acknowledged an error. It was the owner who didn't.

sujormik wrote:Manager asks how everything is so I tell him I was expecting a half chicken and he goes oh no, it's just a breast. I ask him to double check. So he looks at the menu, then comes over to tell me the new menu has a typo and shouldn't say half chicken.

sujormik wrote:Owner comes over and he says, it's a large 10oz breast, "airline" style . . .

=R=

Oh, sorry, I mixed up the two. It was the first person spoken to (the manager) who agreed with the patron, right?

Yes, the manager said right away that it was a typo, I think he meant error obviously. The owner was the only ne selling the airline breast as being equivalent to half chicken. And yes. I really was only looking for him to acknowledge they're not one and the same. I'm not generally confrontational unless I'm pretty sure im right. I was polite.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

riddlemay wrote:

sujormik wrote:Went with our closest friends to a new place, Pleeze, in a Highland Park. The service slow as expected, no problem.

Only part that confuses me is why you'd expect slow service.

Because they'd just opened?

Ah. When sujormik called it a "new place," I didn't assume he (or she) meant new as in "just opened," I assumed he (or she) meant new as in "been around a month or two, meets the definition of new in most people's parlance." Which would take away the presumption of slow service. If he (or she) actually meant to convey "just opened," then I get it.

One voice here in defense of airline chicken. It usually comes with the skin on, and is a bit more juicy and tasty than a simple breast. As far as presentation, it looks more like real food than a simple breast, and it is a convenient cut to grill as a single portion. I think this is why airlines used to serve it back in the day, and whence the name. When I pick up a steak for myself at the butcher, I often ask for an airline cut to make for my wife, who doesn't eat steak, and she is always happy with it.

It has nothing to do w/airlines using it. As mentioned, it has everything to do w/the wing intact.