A month or so before my 29th birthday, I finalized my 30 Before 30 wishlist, filled with 30 tasks / items/ fun things I wanted to complete before my 30th birthday. Flash forward about 10 months to August 27 (which also happens to be my grandma’s birthday), and I’ve only completed 2, maybe 3 items.
WELL – in a mad dash to the finish these last three months. I’ve been on a frenzy to complete them, most recently with my weekend trip to Pittsburg, Kansas, to try not one, but two, restaurants known for their fried chicken.
Enter Chicken Mary’s and Chicken Annie’s. These two have been in Pittsburg since the 1930s and 1940s and over the years, formed a (what I hope is) friendly rivalry. I learned about them years ago at my first job out of college, and ever since then I have wanted to try them! I stayed with a friend about an hour away and we made the trek to try them both out, picking them up then finding a picnic table to really get into the taste-testing.
From the get-go when placing orders over the phone, I had similar experiences with ordering and they were both similarly priced with one coming in at just $13.00 and one coming in at $11.00. We had one more side dish at the $13 place so that extra $2 made sense and was fine with us!
We tried Chicken Annie’s first and the chicken was definitely good. When I dug into the mashed potatoes and gravy and baked beans, they were good, but very normal for what I expected. I then went onto try Chicken Mary’s. The chicken had a bit more breading than I cared for (but my friend loved it!), so I thought Chicken Annie’s was going to take the cake. Then I dug into Chicken Mary’s sides and that’s what won me over. The beans and mashed potatoes were far superior. In the end, that’s why Chicken Mary’s ended up being my winner of the two. While I liked Chicken Annie’s chicken more, I could take it or leave it with the side dishes and for me, it was about the entire eating experience…not just the chicken! Plus I still enjoyed Chicken Mary’s chicken.
In a perfect world though, I’d just order Chicken Annie’s chicken, Chicken Mary’s sides and be a happy camper!
Have you tried these neighboring chicken restaurants? What’s your favorite?
