Tony Street continues his family’s Texas chicken-fried legacy with a new restaurant.
Fried chicken is having a moment — never mind that it’s long been a staple of American regional cuisine from the Carolinas to Texas. Now it’s the stuff of celebrity chefs' gussied-up chicken places in international culinary capitals like New York. Even in Dallas, local chefs have jumped on the fried chicken bandwagon. There is one chef-restaurateur who has the bona fides to get into the poultry game: Tony Street. Owner of the wild-game-focused Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse, Street’s culinary pedigree is steeped in Lone Star State grub. He began his training at his uncle Gene Street’s restaurant, the Black-Eyed Pea. Before Tony was even a teenager, he was cooking chicken-fried steaks. Tony Street knows chicken, and he’s getting back to his roots with a new restaurant in the original Black-Eyed Pea location. The new place? Street’s Fine Chicken.
The menu at Street’s Fine Chicken offers customers myriad poultry options. There’s French-fried chicken that is brined in lemon, sea salt, and Provencal herbs. There’s roasted chicken finished with a toasting that gives the bird a crispy exterior. Another feature is the flame-grilled chicken marinated in olive oil, agave nectar, orange peel, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, onion, peri peri peppers, herbs, and spices. Of course, there is the Street family’s classic chicken-fried steak. But before choosing an entrée, consider these smoked and fried chicken drumsticks rolled in a Grand Marnier horseradish molasses humorously named chicken lollipops.
Chicken Lollipops
10 pounds brined drumsticks
1 cup steak seasoning
Micro greens, for garnish
Load smoker and preheat to 225 degrees.
Season the drumsticks with steak seasoning and place in smoker. Set the thermometer temperature to 165 degrees and place deep into the leg close to the bone. When cooked to temperature remove and place on bottom rack of bread rack and cool 20 minutes before placing in refrigerator.
Grand Marnier Horseradish Molasses
(Makes 40 ounces)
4 cups molasses
½ cup Grand Marnier (Gran Gala to reduce cost)
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 orange, zested and juiced
¼ cup horseradish
2 tablespoons coarse cracked pepper
Salt to taste
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
Fry four drumsticks in fryer at 350 degrees for 2 – 2½ minutes until golden. Dip one at a time in molasses and arrange on an 8-ounce-squared plate. Drizzle approximately ½ ounce extra molasses. Garnish with micro greens.
Street’s Fine Chicken is located at 3857 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas, Texas. To learn more about the restaurant, visit www.streetsfinechicken.com.
