Fried Chicken Bucket List
Where to find the best fried chicken in South Carolina.
“Hey, doesn’t everyone know small-town gas stations are the best places to find kickass fried chicken? Skin so crispy - I rip it off and eat it alone,” said a distinguished-looking gentleman beside me at Parker’s Gas Station. With a big smile, he continued, “Parker’s is some kinda good.”
Parker’s Gas Stations offer a display case of fried chicken, tater logs, gizzards, and livers by the paper-sack-full, whether you’re in its headquarters in Savannah, aka “Fancy Parker’s,” or dozens of locations just off the highways in coastal Georgia and South Carolina - more than 80 other stores, last anyone counted.
Greg Parker, Founder and CEO for the past 50 years, recently stepped down and now serves as the Executive Chairman. He remains committed to his famous fried chicken.
There are a few other places around the state where I’ve had great fried chicken, including Little Howie’s in Bamberg and Aiken. Anyone who has ever enjoyed their fried chicken knows Little Howie’s, and the cooks who create it are so respected that Thanksgiving hosts entrust the quick-service restaurant with their holiday turkeys. That’s a bold move that takes complete confidence.
Biddie Banquet, 220 John C. Calhoun Drive, Orangeburg. Make no bones about it, this might be a modest operation, but it’s a sizzling hotspot for fresh-from-the-fryer, fried chicken goodness. It makes for a great stop on the way home.
In Bluffton, Cahill’s Market & Chicken Kitchen has been high on my list for decades. They serve some of the best in a folksy cafe and farmers market. It’s served with fried okra and stone-ground grits, one of the most popular spots for lunch in all of Bluffton.
Bertha’s Kitchen, located at 232 Meeting Street Road in North Charleston, is where I first discovered authentic Southern soul food at its finest many years ago. This is my humble opinion, of course, but I say Bertha’s fits the definition of comforting soul food. It’s known as the best “hole in the wall” restaurant for fried chicken in South Carolina.
It’s North Charleston’s original soul food restaurant, serving up homestyle Southern cooking since 1979. Folks say, “It’s mighty fine.” It’s fine enough to win the James Beard Award for America’s Classic in 2017.
Bon Appétit magazine in a 2018 story said Bertha’s began in a motel and “became a neighborhood restaurant fueled by unconditional love ( and plenty of fry oil).
The first time I went to Bertha’s was to write their story for our magazine. The energy was fast and bustling as soon as the doors opened, with Bertha’s staff working hard to write down and call out orders in a language only they could understand. But Bertha’s staff understood each other and never missed a beat. My lunch that day was baked macaroni and cheese, collard greens, fried chicken, and cornbread. As they say in Charleston, “mighty fine fixins.”
I had a chance to sit down with one of Berta’s three daughters, Linda Pinckney. Linda says, “ It always gets to me when I think about where we started and where we are now. I think about all the hard work my mom did and the hard work my sisters put into it. Our mother’s spirit is what gets us up in the morning.”
That same pride carries over to their service and all their scrumptious fixings. I’d love to hear about your favorite. Join the subscriber chat at the bottom of the page.
