the 2008 ypsilanti fried chicken showdown: installment 3

And today we find our favorite deep-fried duo at Family’s Fried Chicken…

Family’s Fried Chicken
510 W Michigan Ave

OEC: Talk about speedy delivery. We walked in and walked out in five seconds with a chicken, mashed potatoes and slaw. It was the only place we tried that didn’t fry to order but had the chicken waiting for us in a hot box. If you’re looking for chicken on the run, this is quick chick.

BA: Family’s fried chicken was somewhere between Chick Inn’s and Kluck’s … more spicy than Chick Inn’s, but less than Kluck’s.

OEC: And just a little crisper than Kluck’s.

BA: Their coleslaw was very spicy — A touch too much for my tastes.

OEC: It was my favorite of the slaws. Tangy.

BA: But hey? Mashed potatoes!!! And an actual biscuit!!! Who needs fries when you have mashed potatoes and a biscuit to scoop them up with?

OEC: If rolls are the best sponges, biscuits are the best spoons.

BA: Family’s drumstick had the biggest bone. I wonder, if I brought it over to a paleontologist to theorize as to what sort of beast it came from, would I get back a drawing of a chicken? And if I didn’t, whose fault would that be? Something to think about for sure.

OEC: I wonder, if I brought in a psychoanalysist to theorize about your obsession with bones…

Notes: Cash only. (BA doesn’t have any cash, OEC will get this one.) Limited inside seating.

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12 Comments

  1. Robert
    Posted August 15, 2008 at 1:18 pm | Permalink

    Faster, cheaper, and better sides; those are some strong advantages over the other places which are not shown in ratings.

  2. Brackache
    Posted August 15, 2008 at 1:47 pm | Permalink

    Except the “sides” rating.

    In my defence (before anyone thinks I’m a total selfish mooch libertarian or OEC is a liberal rube), we did all the first three joints at the same time, and I just didn’t have cash with me that day.

  3. Posted August 15, 2008 at 2:21 pm | Permalink

    The first and last time I went to Family’s, the biscuit was made from Poppin’Fresh Dough ™ from Your Grocer’s Freezer. Is it still that way?

  4. nearby
    Posted August 15, 2008 at 6:50 pm | Permalink

    I like the “and OEC picks up the tab”. It is a fun theme. And it makes me want to dine with OEC.

    We will have all the reviews in one thread in the end, for reference, yes?

  5. Ol' E Cross
    Posted August 16, 2008 at 12:51 am | Permalink

    E3.O, You’re probably right, but, we didn’t venture behind any counters. Reacted only on what we were served. Can’t say more than the meal was incredibly quick, tasty, and for the price, quite good. And, the biscuits made excellent gravy utensils. Makes me wonder why all our tableware can’t be edible.

    Oh, don’t worry nearby, BA, will soon pay, and pay dearly. Not to be a spoiler, but I will buy you chicken if you will buy me chicken and beer…

    I’m a little worried about undermining what I can only assume are hard working folks at a local expression of a famed national franchise, but if I want quick chix in Ypsi, I’ll go to Family’s. They have good stuff. But, if I want the most delicious picks, well, you’ll have to wait to hear…

  6. Posted August 16, 2008 at 8:47 am | Permalink

    You guys ate three chicken dinners in one day?

    Wow!!!

  7. Reclusion
    Posted August 17, 2008 at 8:31 am | Permalink

    Familys Hassles blacks.

    I boycott them and the Keg.

  8. Brackache
    Posted August 17, 2008 at 3:59 pm | Permalink

    Geoff, we ate three chicken dinners in an hour.

  9. Ol' E Cross
    Posted August 17, 2008 at 8:00 pm | Permalink

    Three chicken dinners is just a small part of what it takes to fuel our massive, olympian bodies.

    Reclusion, speaking of the olympics, why the boycotts? I had a thing against the Keg a while back but that was a different owner…

  10. Brackache
    Posted August 18, 2008 at 9:54 pm | Permalink

    I’m the swarthy studly one in the pink man-wrap, not the big-eared fruity one in the purple junk-huggers.

  11. Ben
    Posted August 19, 2008 at 11:42 am | Permalink

    Don’t forget. Family’s also has fried chicken livers and gizzards, which as far as I know, none of the other places has. It’s a little taste of Baltimore in Ypsilanti! And the gizzards have great tooth.

  12. Reclusion
    Posted August 19, 2008 at 2:32 pm | Permalink

    The Keg sucks. There is no debate.

    King A-Hole still resides there.

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