Fried chicken is a sentimental favorite among Hoosiers who grew up on the comforting staple featured on diner menus, prayed over at family sit-downs, and packed into race-day box lunches. Food trends come and go, but fried chicken is both adaptable (as witnessed by Indy’s recent wave of Nashville hot spots) and timeless—its signature crackle was ASMR before ASMR was cool. In honor of Indiana’s other state bird, we rounded up the best places around town to get your chomp on. So grab some napkins. It’s crunch time.
HOLLYHOCK HILL
TRADITION RULES at this northside special-occasion landmark with a serious grandma’s-house vibe. The whole stately operation got underway in 1928 when V.D. Vincent and his wife began graciously welcoming guests into their (at the time) country cottage for mannerly and memorable repasts, eventually christening the restaurant in honor of the vibrant flowers that bloomed in abundance on the property. Family-style dining is still the modus operandi, to the tune of more than 1,000 dinners served each week. The hormone-free, humanely raised chicken is dusted in organic flour and fried the old-fashioned way in lard. In a calculated move, breasts are sliced in half crosswise for even cooking.
Plan to loosen your belt a few notches as servers present endless platters of chicken along with salad doused in the signature sweet vinaigrette, pickled beets, cottage cheese, biscuits with apple butter, and bowls brimming with sweet corn, ham hock–studded green beans, and whipped potatoes. (Don’t even think about skipping the homemade gravy.) Just when you think you couldn’t possibly take another bite, out comes a scoop of ice cream for dessert. 8110 N. College Ave., 317-251-2294, hollyhockhill.com
MISSISSIPPI BELLE
explains that the fried chicken at his den of comfort food on the edge of Broad Ripple is not brined (a step he declares “overrated”), only pan-fried in vegetable oil. Each wing, thigh,
