Burgers, Dogs, & Pizza, Oh My!

Posts Tagged ‘Chicago Fried Chicken’

What can be better than finding a mom and pop place out in the middle of nowhere?  Not much, in my opinion, and apparently lots of people agree, because when I stopped at this seasonal drive-in, it was jammed.

They specialize in “broasted chicken,” burgers, and frozen dairy treats. “Broasting” is a combination of deep-frying and pressure cooking that was invented in Wisconsin in the 1950s.

They license their cooking method and sell marinaded chicken and other items for “broasting” to over 5000 restaurants in over fifty countries.  Not a traditional franchise, but the company offers the method and equipment for a licensing fee without the payment of ongoing royalties. I first became acquainted with “Broaster Chicken” at my hometown pizza joint, decades ago.

You can dine outside or in a small attached dining room.

I went with the chicken strips and fries, which was five strips and a good amount of fries (which you can also order by the pound!).  The food was VERY HOT, cooked to order, and tasted ‘fresh’ meaning (to me) not a hint of stale oil. The chicken coating was crisp, seasoned, and the chicken moist and flavorful.

The order comes with a ramekin of BBQ sauce, and other dipping sauces are available.  I’ve driven by this place lots of times and never stopped.  My loss.  It won’t happen again!

I’ve hit some other spots nearby that I like, the Spot in Marengo, and I try and get to the Vet’s home for pancake breakfasts in Genoa on occasion.

Chick N Dip is located just south of I-90, about 25 miles east of Rockford, IL and 45 minutes west of Chicago.  (Map below).

“Since 1936” the sign out front says. This is a big endorsement for me, usually, if a place has been around that long, they must be doing something right. Right? Used to be I chose restaurants based solely on another sign criteria: “most credit cards accepted.” But these days my standards are different.

The Riverview is a neighborhood tavern in search of a neighborhood. And one can’t see the river from any location at the joint, tho surely one could back in 1936. Now there are houses and strip malls in the way.

What’s great about the Riverview is a lengthy menu and nightly specials; Friday nites you’ll find the local ubiquitous fish fry. Sundays nites, it’s all you can eat “broasted” chicken.  The bird comes with slaw, a roll, and choice of fries, baked, or mashed.

Tried the onion rings, which were panko coated, very crispy, quality onions, great flavor.  Came with a ramekin of ranch, I sure don’t know whomever decided that ranch was the ultimate dipping sauce (lobbyists from Hidden Valley?) but it doesn’t do it for me; nor does thousand island, for that matter.

The chicken was great, came with fries and slaw, the fries seemed baked, but the waitress affirmed they were deep-fried.  The question only arose because they weren’t greasy. (Which is a good thing).  There was a patty melt somewhere on the table, it wasn’t prepared exactly as ordered, but was satisfactory nonetheless.

The pizza (thin) is a little thicker crust that most area thin pies.  Really excellent bulk Italian sausage as a topping.  An excellent pie in the segment of “how is it the next morning.”

Here’s a rundown on Riverview’s specials.