[My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the TWENTY-FOURTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!]
ADMIN NOTE: This location is now closed.
Establishment: Spring Chicken
Location: Ft Lauderdale
Meal: Dinner (although they called it Supper, 'cause they're Southern like that)
Drink: Cherry (Coke+Sprite)
equal parts Cherries Coke and Sprite
Appetizer: Mama's Biscuit
Our Yardbird Award-Winning Homemade Biscuit, Baked Fresh Daily (with Honey Butter and Strawberry Jam)
Main: The Yardbird Sandwich
Award-Winning Crispy Chicken Thigh, House Pickles, Southern Sauce, Served on a Toasted Potato Bun
Side(s): House Fries AND the "add a drumstick" option
Dessert: n/a
Server: Kayla (although it is counter style, so she was more of just an order taker)
Website: http://eatspringchicken.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatspringchicken
There are chicken places for those pinching pennies (KFC) and there are chicken places for those of a particular demographic (Popeye's and Church's). There are chicken places for those looking to send a portion of their personal budget by way of franchise fees to bigots (yep, we have a Chick Fil A in town) ... and NOW, in southern Florida, there are chicken places inspired by local restaurants. Such is the Spring Chicken franchise (spun off from the Yardbird), and such is the place that JUST opened up here in town. For the first time in this series ... a score at a BRAND NEW eating establishment ... a score that breaks down as follows:
AMBIANCE: 7/10 (when we first moved to town a year and a half ago, it was a bank ... and now it's one of what will be four fast casual locations down here ... the grand opening was just a few weeks ago, and the place looks bright and beautiful, crisp and comforting... so bright, there's a point lost for not installing shades for the setting sun that hits the seating area right at meal time [I ended up wearing my sunglasses to eat] ... and a second point lost for a parking lot where the people who drew up the lines partitioning cars forgot to account for the fact that a car door has to open after it is in its spot ... and a third point lost for serving blue plate dinners on blue melamine plates as shtick, but re-using them, which seems odd in a fast casual setting)
FOOD: 7/10 (I don't think there is any dispute that the chicken itself was "quality" but it really comes down to how I *wanted* to like it much more than I actually did ... although the sandwich was tasty enough, specifically there's a point lost for honey butter served cold so it couldn't be spread on the flaky biscuits [a pet peeve of mine] ... a point lost for a breading I just didn't enjoy on that drumstick [no offense to Llewellyn, but I wanted it firmer and crispier and I got it a little soggy and overly peppered] and a point lost overall for failing the adage about how if you pay more, you're going to get a better meal)
SERVICE: 8/10 (because it's a counter service construct, our "server" was really our order taker ... and God bless her ... although she was polite and efficient, she was stuck on auto-pilot and even apologized for "listening, but not really listening" -- for which a point is deducted ... and, because we forgot to order the biscuits the first time, I went back in line and got her again and even though having just ordered a few moments before, she didn't remember we had been through the line until I brought it up when I said I didn't need another "pager" -- for which a second point is deducted)
BACON: 5/10 (it IS on the menu, but only once ... maybe it wouldn't be staying true to the place's authentic southern roots ... but I know my sandwich could have done a lot better with a little bit of bacon love)
BONUS: 9/10 (+3 for those award winning biscuits though, +3 for having a make-your-own-Coke machine and +3 for that sauce station in the photo replete with homemade sauces)
TroyScore: 36 out of 50 -- aka 72, a low C
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