STACKED is a new Scout column that aims to dig down into the delicious details of Vancouver’s better sandwiches and burgers. From banh mi and beef dip to sliders and reubens, the goal is to craft and catalog an archive of awesome that visitors and locals alike can reference when at their hungriest.
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by Andrew Morrison | To those who live and work in and around Chinatown, the summer arrival of Juke Fried Chicken was a straight up boon. The quick service spot from Cord Jarvie, Justin Tisdall and chef Bryan Satterford gets you in and out on the fly in the daytime and is anchored by a capable cocktail bar at night — the one constant throughout is the fried chicken. I’m partial to the thighs, which are well represented in their popular chicken sandwich, which comes singly ($5) or in twos ($9). According to Bryan, it was the first item tested and locked on the menu when it was being developed (try it and you’ll know why). Here’s the breakdown:
1. The bun is a sauce-soaking pillow from Swiss Bakery on East 3rd Avenue (home of the delirium-inducing “frissant”). The thing can sustain deliberate pressure and maintains structural integrity from start to finish. A basic fried chicken delivery system and uncomplicated flavour facilitator.
2. Mmm, 3-oz of 24-hour buttermilk marinated, free-run chicken thigh from Abbotsford’s own Rossdown Farm, battered in a proprietary gluten-free mix and seasoned to seduce. The star of the show comes with a nice crunch and chew, both of which survive refrigeration. Considered by Scout readers to be the best fried chicken in town
3. The impactful house BBQ sauce is ketchup based and cleaves close to the Texas type. Made with ancho chilies, pork jus, honey, onions, garlic, brown sugar, cider vinegar and a secret blend of spices, it isn’t the most complex or nuanced of sauces but it definitely announces itself. If they bottled the stuff I’d definitely buy it.
4. The slaw is a textural hook that softens the chicken crunch while balancing the savoury with a vegetal message to the brain that explains how this might not be bad for you. Essentially a crispy chop of cabbage, carrot, red onion, turnip, dill and potato all slicked with a grainy mustard mayonnaise. Does the job.
How is Vancouver this late on trends. First poke and now the Fried Chicken sandwich. It does look good though.
How do you come up with such things?! This sandwich has been less than impressive ALL 3 times it was eaten…
Flavours are good but they may as well call it a mini-burger (or do it as a slider) because that’s what it is and most folks are best served by getting 2 (hence the obvious option). It’s disappointing the moment you open it, even with good flavour. This thing is a tiny piece of chicken on a normal sized burger bun (making a junior chicken from Mickie D’s look huge), one of the worst things you can do to any sandwich IMO. Charge $7-10 for a normal sized burger and forget being deceitful with the pricing already to make it seem like an awesome deal, it isnt.
Fantastic sandwich. Love the batter. Good deal too at $9 for two. Fills you up good!
The dill in the slaw is the hook man. Hooked in these things.
In Vancouver
An Americano is $3.50
A juice is $8
A cocktail is $14
Paying $4.50 for a delicious chicken sandwich doesn’t seem like a big deal.
Take your word to yelp kid.