“I’m already plotting how to get this into my mouth again,” said my dining companion. That was after just a few bites. But the fried chicken at Queen Mother’s in Arlington has the kind of power that will have you planning return engagements almost immediately.
If you can find it. Queen Mother’s is inside La Cocina Café on Columbia Pike, a nonprofit focused on improving the community one plate at a time. The shared kitchen space is also home to a weekly Polish pop-up, Chef Ewa. But Tuesday through Saturday, diners can order life-changing chicken at the right-hand corner of the counter, courtesy of chef Rahman “Rock” Harper, the victor of season three of Hell’s Kitchen. The business’s name is a tribute to his mother, Carol.
She must be proud of his duck-fat-fried wares. I am, and I’ve never even met the guy. And it’s one sandwich specifically that’s won (and likely damaged) my heart. As if a humanely raised chicken breast dusted in flours and spices, then, yes, dunked in duck fat, weren’t enough, he also serves a sandwich topped with honey butter. I kind of buried the lede, didn’t I? The result lies somewhere between the realms of sweet and savory. The chicken’s coating is crisp as can be, even as sticky butter oozes, seemingly from all directions, out of the soft bun containing it.
It’s even better with a side of crinkle-cut fries, heavily seasoned with “signature Queen’s Spice” and fried up in the same duck fat that crisps up the chicken. Fries come with a choice of sauce as well as Heinz ketchup. I recommend spicy mambo sauce, as a sweet-and-sour ode to the locale.
And yes, after just a few bites, you, too, will be plotting a second visit.
918 S. Lincoln St.. Ste. 2, Arlington
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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