FOOD

Back in the ‘40s & ’50s there were no “chain” restaurants, no “golden arches”, and no national “fried chicken” franchises. Back then if you wanted great fried chicken, you went to a small, storefront “mom & pop” operated restaurants. Many of these family run businesses were on Chicago’s South Side and had colorful names like Baby Doll’s, Mama’s, Big Bub’s and the famous Ella Mae & Charlie’s on South Shore Drive.

Many of these restaurants bought their chickens from Brown’s Poultry Store, which John and Belva Brown supplied from their own countryside chicken farm. The restaurant owners would "guesstimate" how many chickens they would need for the next two days and call Brown's Poultry Store. Mr. Brown would then go process the chickens and deliver them in his old truck.

Mr. Brown enjoyed talking with his customers. They’d boast how theirs was the “best fried chicken on the whole South Side”. And they shared the secrets of their recipes.
The chicken Mr. Brown liked best came from a Chicago neighborhood tradition with roots in rural Mississippi. It had a unique buttermilk batter and was cooked in cottonseed oil, not shortening. As local ingredients and cooking customs were incorporated, an unusual style of chicken evolved… crispy on the outside, moist and flavorful on the inside… with a flavor found only in Chicago.