I’ve been meaning to go and try Harold’s Chicken Shack that opened up in the spot on Main Street that formerly housed the World of Wings that we visited on the Twelve Weeks of Wings tour. So we now return to that revamped space to sample the fried chicken at Harold’s as we begin our third month of the 13 Months of Chicken tour. Cluck, yeah!
Here we are on Main Street and there’s Harold’s Chicken Shack. I love their logo with the guy chasing the chicken with a hatchet!
Please note the obligatory shadow mirror on the door as we prepare to enter and start our third month of chicken. Ten more clucking months to go!
It’s pretty much the same as when it was The World of Wings but there’s fresh paint and new art on the walls. There’s tables up front and in the back, with booths lining the walls.
The menus are on the walls and as you can see, there’s lots to choose from including specials every weekday. Here’s the online menu if you want to sneak a peek.
You order up at the sturdy counter up front and there’s Adrianna waiting to take our order while flashing a pretty smile! She was very friendly and quite helpful as far as choosing a nice chicken lunch!
After I ordered I saw this on the counter? What the hell? I rang it and...
Steve Tarter appears like he was beamed down in finest Star Trek fashion! It’s perfect that Steve’s here, because it was his review back in February that made me curious about this place. And now both of us are here, I love it when this happens!
We decided to get a table in the back and I spied a familiar face back at that corner table.
On the right is Sarah and she’s with her friend who’s name I wrote down and have since lost! Well, I do know that the fellow in the middle of them is named Richard, so I have that going for me! They both teach at Bradley and were taking a fried chicken lunch break. Great to chat with both of them!
Look at this, it’s another one of these kooky-ass bells they have in here! This one says to “Ring for Garry Moore.” I’ve never met Garry, but here goes...
And poof, the veteran Peoria news anchor who retired last April appears out of thin air! This is pretty wild! I introduced myself to Garry and then started showing him my tattoos and it kind of freaked him out and he pretty much ran away from me! (And that is a true story, Steve can veify!)
Meanwhile back at our table, Adrianna has two trays of food for us!
This is a bird’s eye-view of our bountiful lunch! Steve and I both ordered a quarter chicken dinner with a wing, breast, cole slaw and fries. We also got an order of chicken gizzards and Adrianna said that they gave us an order of fried green tomatoes on the house! How nice is that? Okay, time to dig in to lunch!
The cole slaw was really tasty and crunchy, just the way I like it.
I ordered the chicken gizzards. You don’t see these on the menu at too many places and I love chicken gizzards if they’re cooked right. Well these were fried up exceptionally and the special Harold’s hot sauce took them to the highest level taste-wise! So far we’re off to a wonderful start here at Harold’s, now on to the main feature of the afternoon...
The fried chicken! The chicken breast is huge and looks crispy and delicious!
Wow, this is fantastic fried chicken! The outside breading is crispy and light and the chicken is so plump and juicy inside. And just like with the gizzards, the sauce really elevates the flavor of the chicken! This is an original fried chicken taste you’re only going to get at Harold’s and I know I’m coming back for more!
Steve gives our lunch an enthusiastic thumbs up! And thanks to the rotten ball of sun outside for somewhat wrecking this photo! One of the hazards of daytime blogging!
On the way out we met Chef Keith who cooked and prepared our wonderful lunch! Thanks to him and Adrianna for the fabulous service and lunch and thanks to Steve Tarter for joining me! And apologies to Garry Moore for scaring him, but he wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last!
Chicken Rating
Four Dixie Chickens—At Harold’s they know how to fry chicken and don’t forget to try the gizzards! And put plenty of sauce all over the chicken, it’s like hot sauce nectar from the chicken gods!
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Harold’s Chicken Shack #41 of Peoria
1024 W. Main Street
Peoria
309-688-4711
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Related Posts: 13 Months of Chicken @ Lariat Steakhouse, Donnelly’s Irish Pub, Thanh Linh, Grandpa John’s Rib Shack, Birdie’s Bar & Grill, Jalapeno’s Mexican Grill, Midway Duck Inn, Ludy’s Kickapoo Creek Saloon, Jubilee Cafe, Rizzi’s and Agatucci’s.