Fried Chicken Plus…

We do love good fried chicken!  The problem for us is that the seasoning has to have some distinct pop of flavor.  Kentucky fried chicken (crispy) is one of our safe dining destinations when we’re home or on the road but we’ve also had great fried chicken in local restaurants here and there over the years.  It is a road trip favorite meal…

This is Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken’s location on Lovell Road near the Turkey Creek Shopping Area in Knoxville/Farragut Tennessee.  This is the second Knoxville area Gus’s location.  In the past we’ve eaten at their Sutherland Avenue restaurant but this much newer location is much closer to our home in Loudon County.

As per Gus’s website, they are the current reigning champion of the National Fried Chicken Festival.  Also the Travel Channel has ranked Gus’s as the 12^th tastiest restaurant in America to ‘chow down’.

Despite its obviously casual almost ‘bare bones’ appearance, Gus’s is a sit down restaurant with friendly wait staff taking your order and delivering the food.  While we were there they also had a steady flow of ‘to go’ customers.

The menu is very straightforward and brief.  There are 3 different ‘starters’, fried okra, fried green tomatoes and Fried Pickles.  Customers can order their chicken ala carte…by the piece…as a ‘snack’ (chicken only: 2 piece white or dark, and ‘mixed’ with 8, 12, 16 or 20 pieces of chicken.  Then there are the meals or ‘plates’ which include varying quantities of chicken, including ‘tenders’, as well as baked beans, coleslaw and a slice of white bread.  Alternate ‘sides’ include seasoned French fries, mac ‘n cheese, greens and potato salad.  FYI, Gus’s does serve beer.   

As I mentioned, the dining area décor at Gus’s is minimalist.  These ceramic chickens and other miscellaneous items were noted on a shelf high up on the wall.

The founders and creators of Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken were from Mason Tennessee.  Napoleon “Na” Vanderbilt and Maggie started selling chicken ‘to go’ out of the back door of a tavern they operated starting in 1953.  With the support of the local community, they opened their restaurant in Mason in 1973.  Both “Na” and Maggie have passed but that restaurant is still serving their chicken...

The first photo above shows Laurie’s meal.  She ordered the “3-Piece Dark Plate”, (2 thighs and a leg), with the usual sides of baked beans, coleslaw and that slice of white bread under the chicken.  Laurie prefers the dark meat but she doesn’t really like legs so I ‘had’ to help her out.

My meal was the “3-Piece White Plate”, (2 breasts and a wing).  I switched out the baked beans for the seasoned fries.  We both enjoyed our chicken and our sides…my seasoned fries were very good and the slaw holds its own too.  I didn’t write down the prices, they aren’t posted on the website and my receipt wasn’t detailed.  Nevertheless, the pricing was very fair and we got more than enough food.

It should be noted that these restaurant’s full name is Gus’s World Famous Hot and Spicy Fried Chicken.  It is not Nashville hot fried chicken.  The heat in Gus’s chicken is fairly low key…just enough to be different.

The only negative we have ever noted about Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken is that it isn’t all that great leftover the next day.  The light breading or the process used to cook the chicken seems to cause the meat to be too dry to be a great leftover.

Then there was this sign.  It explains why that slice of white bread is placed under the chicken.  It’s what Napoleon and Maggie did in the beginning at the back door of their tavern and it’s now a tradition. 

The menu at Gus’s also includes 5 different types of pie, all of which are baked daily.  They include pecan, chess, chocolate chess, sweet potato and old-fashioned coconut.  We have yet to try any of them.

So why is “Na” and Maggie’s restaurant referred to as Gus’s?  Their son Gus (aka Vernon) and his wife Gertrude, were the ones who not only continued the legacy but were part of Gus’s continued success. 

Gus’s World Famous Hot and Spicy Fried Chicken is located at 126 Lovell Road in Knoxville Tennessee.  It is right across the street from Costco.  Gus’s is open 7 days a week.  Website: Knoxville (Farragut) | Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken (gusfriedchicken.com).  Currently this chain has about 40 restaurants across 13 states.

Time now for another ‘dog fix’ for Laurie!   

This is Flurry, the latest neighborhood dog to be spoiled by my better half.  In that second photo she’s liking her ‘lips’ after receiving and eating a milk bone.  Laurie keeps a sealed container of large and small milk bones on the front porch ‘just in case’ she has the chance to pamper another pooch.

I’ll end with Laurie’s first ‘harvest’ of the season.  The only edibles that she grows are herbs from her planters on our back deck.  In this case she’d harvested tarragon, basil and sage, which she bundled and hung up to dry for future use.

That’s all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave