Growing up fried chicken was my everything, my North Star if you will. If I saw it out somewhere, I always wanted it. Something about it just always spoke to me and my stomach, I like to think of fried chicken as the friend that’s always there for me. It’s pretty hard to screw fried chicken up, I know I’m sure you all have horror stories about bad fried chicken and I don’t want to even imagine the thought of it. Luckily, Harvest Fried Chicken in Woodbine delivers delicious fried chicken that’s fresh every time. Before we get to Harvest Fried Chicken, let’s talk about the ongoing debate about Royal Farms fried chicken and whether great fried chicken can truly come from a gas station. My take is this. Great food can come from wherever the hell it wants. What matters is, does it taste good? If that answer is yes, then let go of your stupid pretensions about food and just enjoy the ride. While Royal Farm’s chicken is not the best fried chicken I have ever had (that distinction goes to Willie Mae’s Scotch House in New Orleans), as far as fried chicken goes in Maryland it’s pretty damn good. With that said, I prefer Harvest Fried Chicken over Royal Farms, it’s crunchier and saltier and really hits the spot for me.
Harvest Fried Chicken is nestled deep in Western Howard County right near the border with Carrol County, located in a strip mall situated next to a Dollar Store and a Pharmacy sits Harvest Fried Chicken. When you walk in you’re transported to a bygone era of neighborhood eats, the checkerboard resilient tile on the floor and the kitschy farm based decor makes you feel like you’re sitting in your grandma’s kitchen circa 1968.
You order your food right at the counter, the menu is simple with different meat options laid out in front of you on a medium sized cloth board behind the counter. You have your choice of choosing different cuts of chicken to be fried or to choose from different combos that come with sides. The fried chicken is made fresh and is kept warm in a big warming glass showcase, alongside the chicken are various sides and other things to eat. I’ll be honest, I can’t give a grade on whether the other foods here are good because I only ever order the fried chicken, why would you order anything else? You don’t go to a pizza joint to order a steak and you don’t go to Harvest FRIED CHICKEN to order the fish.
The fried chicken itself is a pure delight, it has just enough breading so it’s the perfect blend of crunchy and saltiness in your mouth. The breading isn’t overly spiced where it overpowers you with a single spice, ruining the meal. Rather it’s a mild blend of spices that plays well together as you munch through chicken skin that’s been fried in a vat of oil. The chicken meat is always juicy and never dry, my brother is known to just order 12 pieces of split breasts like a monster which he then consumes in cold blood. But I prefer the dark meat, because it has much more flavor and has slightly more complexity to it than your standard chicken breast.
You can’t have a fried chicken place without sides, and unfortunately that’s where Harvest Fried Chicken misses the mark, most of their sides are bland if not forgettable, except for one. The corn fritters. Don’t waste your time with the other sides here as they are mostly marginal at best, the corn fritters on the other hand are Americana at its best. A blissful combination of fat and sugar, deep fried into a crunchy oblivion that leaves you wishing you could somehow have corn fritters everyday and the impending arterial sclerosis that would result from this endeavor would be but a small price to pay for the corn based nirvana you would enter every day. The corn fritters are sweet creamed corn in a almost funnel cake esque batter, which are then rolled into little balls and deep fried and covered with powdered sugar. Honestly it’s probably fair food and damn it if it isn’t delicious.
Harvest Fried Chicken doesn’t do everything right, but it does the important things right. And that’s what matters. The fried chicken is incredible and it’s always at the top of my list when I go back home to Woodbine. So go to Harvest Fried Chicken, order yourself up a big old plate of chicken and enjoy the ride.
Final Grade: B+
*P.S. They have fried chicken livers, so if that’s your thing, have at it because they’re cheap and plentiful here*
