There are not a lot of good places in Philly to get dang good fried chicken. You have the Korean deliciousness of Soho Café in Cheltenham and then there’s the Thursday lunch special amazingness of David Katz at Meme. Most recently, when I am lucky and they’re in town, I can get my hands on one of ?uestlove’s drumsticks but that’s really about it for me*. And don’t even get me started on doughnuts! Well, that was until recently…

There is no doubt that since opening its doors only a few months ago, Federal Donuts has taken the Philly food scene by storm.  The long lines have enticed way more curious eaters than have annoyed them. And there is a good reason to wait: their stuff is bangin’!

COOK had the great pleasure to host the FedNuts crew last Sunday for a coffee, doughnuts and fried chicken spectacular that left everyone full and happy.

The menu consisted of:

• Sufganiyot with raspberry jelly (that’s a type of doughnut)
• Taiwanese chicken wings
• Honey-dipped Loukomades (also a doughnut)
• Willie Mae’s scotch house style fried chicken and creole butter beans
• Sour cream doughnuts with tonka glaze

The FedNuts gang rolls deep: with Chef Michael Solomonov at the helm. He was joined that day by FedNuts sous chef and wunderkind, Zach Engel. In addition to Mike and Zach, we had Tom Henneman of Bodhi Coffee and Felicia D’Ambrosio “of the universe”. Tom and Felicia were on beverage duty (which included hot coffees and delicious cold cocktails) while Zach and Mike headed up chicken and doughnut stations.

It was one of our goofiest classes yet! At one point, Mike and I slow danced like we were at a middle school dance. Later, Mike and Zach made a bet involving a teaspoon of lard for the loser. Mike rock, paper, scissored his way to victory and the horrified yet enthralled group of guests looked on as Zach dutifully sucked lard from a spoon and chased it with a huge shot of Makers Mark. Good times, good times.

I cannot say enough positives about the FedNuts crew or their product. I think the pics speak for themselves.

In March, Zach will be back at COOK, only this time, he’ll be joined by his former Marigold Kitchen cohort, Erin O’Shea (currently of Percy Street Barbecue), for a New Orleans-inspired menu. Stay tuned for that!

*Obviously, I have not eaten all the fried chicken in Philadelphia so cut me a little slack!