4 December —
It hardly needs to be re-stated that food is one of life’s great
pleasures. From Mark Twain to Oscar Wilde, the wisest among us have
noticed that an appreciation for food is an appreciation for life. More
recently, our own Caroline Wilkes wrote that “My favorite time of day is
food time.” She is not alone. For most of us, “food time” is one of the
few times that we get to take a deep breath and indulge ourselves. Food
is in fact so closely associated with pleasure and comfort that, around
the world, the most important holidays are often centered around food.
In honor of the winter holidays, our final days eating in the “big
city,” and Caroline’s recent foray into food journalism, I would
like to devote this ultimate program blog to eating. For the love of
food!
Most contemporary commentators looking into the food world of London have focused their attention on a relatively small number of upscale restaurants in neighborhoods like Soho, Mayfair, and Shoreditch. No longer. I would like to provide a break from these rather stuffy gourmet food explorations and instead use this opportunity to discuss something far more ubiquitous and democratic—chicken. In fact, living in Mile End, there are few things I can speak about more authoritatively. Simply put, it is hard to live in Mile End and not eat a great deal of chicken. Program blogger Noemie Cloutier, a resident of Mile End, commented on this on October 5th when she wrote about the “sheer amount of different chicken restaurants” available in Mile End. What follows is an honest and accessible description of my food experiences eating chicken within 500 feet of the Queen Mary Campus.
This post will focus on the five most visited chicken shops in Mile End; (1) Nando's, (2) Pirri-Pirri, (3) Dixie Chicken, (4) KFC, and (5) Fast Food Corner. Let’s start at the bottom and work our way up. To get it out of the way quickly, the worst chicken in Mile End is served at Nando’s. Controversial, I know, but if you didn’t want controversy you shouldn’t be reading a food blog. Anyways, if you want fast-food quality food at Olive Garden prices then Nando’s is perfect. However, if you prefer your chicken cheap and served in styrofoam, then this place is best avoided. Also, unlike the other chicken joints featured in this article, you can eat Nando’s at the airport. Instead, I highly recommend going to the off-brand Pirri-Pirri restaurant next door to Nando’s. It’s not high quality, and it has the atmosphere of a tanning salon, but at least there you won’t see anyone you know.
Next on the list is Dixie Chicken. This place is just terrible. The crust is not crispy enough, the chicken is not tender enough, and their menu has too many options. A truly great Chicken restaurant doesn’t try to do everything, but rather focuses on the basics. Skip Dixie Chicken entirely. The other chicken shop on the block, KFC, is also disappointing and better avoided. KFC outside of the US is expensive and unexceptional. If you want to eat fried chicken in Mile End, skip Dixie Chicken and KFC and walk yourself over to the Fast Food Corner (FCC). This diamond in the rough always has a three-person line and serves food day and night. While the quality is not the highest, the food is incredibly cheap and is consistently satisfying. More than any of the other chicken option in Mile End, FCC embodies the cheapness, greasiness, and indulgence of fast food chicken culture. FCC inhabits a world of spontaneous cravings and impulsive decisions. Like the sweetest taboos, FCC isn’t rational and isn’t something to tell your friends about.
Most contemporary commentators looking into the food world of London have focused their attention on a relatively small number of upscale restaurants in neighborhoods like Soho, Mayfair, and Shoreditch. No longer. I would like to provide a break from these rather stuffy gourmet food explorations and instead use this opportunity to discuss something far more ubiquitous and democratic—chicken. In fact, living in Mile End, there are few things I can speak about more authoritatively. Simply put, it is hard to live in Mile End and not eat a great deal of chicken. Program blogger Noemie Cloutier, a resident of Mile End, commented on this on October 5th when she wrote about the “sheer amount of different chicken restaurants” available in Mile End. What follows is an honest and accessible description of my food experiences eating chicken within 500 feet of the Queen Mary Campus.
This post will focus on the five most visited chicken shops in Mile End; (1) Nando's, (2) Pirri-Pirri, (3) Dixie Chicken, (4) KFC, and (5) Fast Food Corner. Let’s start at the bottom and work our way up. To get it out of the way quickly, the worst chicken in Mile End is served at Nando’s. Controversial, I know, but if you didn’t want controversy you shouldn’t be reading a food blog. Anyways, if you want fast-food quality food at Olive Garden prices then Nando’s is perfect. However, if you prefer your chicken cheap and served in styrofoam, then this place is best avoided. Also, unlike the other chicken joints featured in this article, you can eat Nando’s at the airport. Instead, I highly recommend going to the off-brand Pirri-Pirri restaurant next door to Nando’s. It’s not high quality, and it has the atmosphere of a tanning salon, but at least there you won’t see anyone you know.
Next on the list is Dixie Chicken. This place is just terrible. The crust is not crispy enough, the chicken is not tender enough, and their menu has too many options. A truly great Chicken restaurant doesn’t try to do everything, but rather focuses on the basics. Skip Dixie Chicken entirely. The other chicken shop on the block, KFC, is also disappointing and better avoided. KFC outside of the US is expensive and unexceptional. If you want to eat fried chicken in Mile End, skip Dixie Chicken and KFC and walk yourself over to the Fast Food Corner (FCC). This diamond in the rough always has a three-person line and serves food day and night. While the quality is not the highest, the food is incredibly cheap and is consistently satisfying. More than any of the other chicken option in Mile End, FCC embodies the cheapness, greasiness, and indulgence of fast food chicken culture. FCC inhabits a world of spontaneous cravings and impulsive decisions. Like the sweetest taboos, FCC isn’t rational and isn’t something to tell your friends about.
—Lucas Heilbroner