Fried Chicken is the first in a short series of books by John T. Edge exploring iconic American foods (donuts, hamburgers and fries, and apple pie are the other subjects). There are short sketches of distinctive fried chicken cooks and histories of several regional variations, and each chapter ends with a recipe. I was impressed that despite the fact that Edge is the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance that he starts the book off with the thesis that "fried chicken is best served without a side of provincial bluster" and gives equal weight to Guatemalan and New York fried chicken, for example. But most impressive to me was that I made it to page 100 before I took a trip to Popeyes. Love that chicken!
FuzzyCo grade: B
