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Barberton Chicken
(Serbian Fried Chicken)
Barberton chicken or Serbian fried chicken is a regional specialty originating from Barberton. A whole, fresh chicken is cut into pieces that are dredged in flour, then eggs, and finally in a mixture of breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper before they are deep-fried in lard.
It was Belgrade Gardens, a diner that was founded during the Depression-era by Serbian owners Manojlo Mike and Smiljka Topalsky, that first started offering this fried chicken specialty. The style of preparing and frying the chicken had its roots in Serbian cuisine and was handed down to Smiljka by her mother.
The traditional way of serving crispy barberton fried chicken includes three side dishes: french fries, vinegar-based coleslaw, and a sort of spicy concoction made with rice, tomatoes, and hot peppers usually called hot sauce. Regarded as one of the best fried chicken dishes in the country by USA Today, this chicken specialty is a favorite in Barberton and the surrounding area.
WHERE TO EAT The best Barberton Chicken in the world (according to food experts)
1
Recommended by Jane & Michael Stern and 8 other food critics.
"Cooked in lard, it has an unspeakably luxurious red gold crust; and it differs from ordinary fast-food fried chicken not only by the dripping moistness its crust encases, but by its shape. Belgrade Gardens, since 1933, is the original source of this goodness."
2
Recommended by Jane & Michael Stern and 3 other food critics.
"White House Chicken is for skin lovers. Each piece is enveloped in a chewy, spicy, supersavory coat so thick that the meat inside - white as well as dark - yields no juice until the envelope is breached. What makes White House chicken skin such a marvel is that the frying medium is lard, insinuating every bite with wanton luxe."
3
Recommended by Karen K. Boughton and 1 other food critic.
"If you grew up in the greater Barberton, Ohio, area, you had to frequent one of its four original chicken eateries: Belgrade Gardens, Milich’s Village Inn, Hopocan Gardens and White House Chicken. Our family ate every Sunday dinner at either one of these four restaurants, but our favorite was Milich’s Village Inn and, yes, they served chicken, chicken and more chicken."
4
Recommended by Mat Stevens
"The Hopocan Gardens in Barberton has been serving up some of the best fried chicken in the country for over 50 years. Founded in 1942, their signature hot sauce is the stuff of legends and their chicken is always fresh and always natural."
Other Fried Chicken varieties
