Parson's Chicken & Fish (Logan Square) — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

I'm back in town after a nice two week vacation and I spent the last two days planning what what I was going to eat on my next excursion into that wilderness of Chicago. I really wanted some Home Run Inn, but Parson's is like three blocks down the street from me so I decided to give it another try.

Walking in there was nobody manning the door once again, but one of the staff came over after a few minutes and told me to just sit wherever (maybe it is about time to retire that "Please wait to be seated" sign.) I made sure to come in early afternoon to avoid the skeleton crew that was the night crew last time I was here. There were plenty of servers now, at least double from the last time from what I counted. My order was promptly taken. I mixed it up with some Mac 'N Cheese, 2 Fried Amish Chicken, a fish sandwich with some ginger beer. The guy taking the order explained how their chicken cuts worked so I settled on a breast and thigh.

The wait wasn't nearly as bad as last time. I think it was around 10-15 minutes before my food came out. This time they it was just my food and not everybody in the restaurant's at once, which is most likely why the time was drastically shorter. Everything looked good aside from the chicken which is ironic. The chicken looked more like 2 big hard fried potato croquettes than actual fried chicken.

I started off with the fish sandwich which was very airy. There was definitely a decent cut of fish so you don't feel cheated about the over breading, especially since the fluffy airiness of it doesn't take up much on the plate. It was indeed a mess eating it though. Things were way more flavorful this time around as well, but you still can't help to tell them to just throw on a tomato to make it that much better! Whoever owns this place must HATE tomatoes to the point where they don't even have ketchup. The chips were noticeably not as good as the last time though, a bit too over fried, leaving a bland yet soggy crunch.

On to the chicken! I didn't know what to expect from the pair of balls that sat before me. Opening the thigh I felt sort of cheated as the cut was mostly bone. Still, the seasoning was good, just enough salt to taste. The meat was juicy. Skin was pretty meh. You hard fried the skin a bit too long so it was really tough. The second ball, the breast was perfection. Seasoned was superb, it was very flavorful and juicy. Pulled apart great and the skin was fried just right. There was no rubber chicken this time around since it seems like whoever did it, didn't rush like last time.

Mac N' Cheese ended my night and put me to sleep (in a good way.) I found myself doing a little jig in my seat as I was eating it so you know its good. The macaroni was soaked in a ton of creamy cheese...just the way I like it. The Cheez-It and bacon crumbs was the icing on the cake. I'm writing this review right before I fall into a food coma.

One thing I took away from this visit was that whoever was working that night the last time I was here was either an amateur chef or was in way over their head. The experiences are night and day. Overall, Parson's has redeemed itself in my eyes. The servers kept my drink filled all night and the food got me dancing.

What's holding them back is the prices and the terrible furniture they have in there. The butt numbing child sized stools they have definitely need to be replaced. I had to run out because of the restricted blood flow I received in my legs and butt from sitting there made it painful and uncomfortable.

4...

Service left a bad taste in my mouth this past Tuesday June 18th. Server (who I did not catch her name, has orange hair) was not attentive. While she’s taking our order, she accidentally sends the order to the kitchen, I told her to go back an alert the kitchen. My partner and I are industry folks and get how those toast handhelds can be. She tell us that she’s fine, and that she did not made a mistake. My partners sandwich arrives before his fries and my food. The server walks by, looks at the lonely sandwich and procedes to say that she told the kitchen, but they just sent it out anyway. She didn’t stop by to have a full conversation or find a solution. My partner waited at least 8-10m before my food and his fries made it to the table. By the time he ate his sandwich it was cold. The server also was not around to order more drinks.

The server comes by after we asked her for the check . She starts to small talk as she is getting our tab ready. She asked if the food came out alright, yet it was too late to even complained and after horrible service we truly wanted to leave. She then stereotypes me and ask if I have any special plans for the holiday “Juneteenth”, assuming that because I’m black, I’m African American. It really just seems that she was trying to work her tip at that point. We tip 20% because we understand the service industry but, the service was more than disappointing.

I should mentioned, server was not busy and we could see her text in...

Driving by I always thought this place was a pizza joint, lol. When I found out they had fried chicken I decided to check them out. We started with the Cheese Fritters, Hush Puppies, Buffalo Wings and a few oysters both broiled and raw. The broiled oysters kind of missed the mark for me, nice crunch but lost the oyster, raw is the way to go.The Cheese Fritters were very good and came with a tasty buttermilk dressing. The Hush Puppies had a good flavor but were very dense, i would pass on those IF I went back. The Buffalo wings had a great sauce, spicey and rich, loved it, but the wing itself reminded me of something you would pull out of the freezer and toss in the oven, right up the alley for anyone who had one too many to drink. They almost lost me there but caught my interest again when the Parsons Hot Chicken made it to my table. The aroma of the chicken, sweet honey/misquite heat smelled great. The skin is so crunchy and has to be my Favorite dish here along with The Hot Chicken Sandwich, it looks so reckless and is exactly what I want in a spicy chicken sandwich. I definitely recommend the hot chicken sandwich. Parking isn't much of an issue in the area, the dinning room is cool, service makes you feel very comfortable. But I Always Grade a Restaurant by One Question, Would I Come Back? Will I Crave this Food Again? And Parsons Teeters on the Opposite End of yes. Im more happy I checked them off my to do...