Boom! goes the local fried chicken options

Chef Jonathon Stranger is off and frying in 2024 with plenty more to come

BOOM! Chef Jonathon Stranger’s One Table Hospitality just dropped a new fried chicken concept on the 405 diningscape. Thursday afternoon, Stranger let the chicken loose from inside Bar Cicchetti, 121 NE 2nd St. BOOM! Chicken will operate seven days a week, 4 p.m. to midnight every day but Sunday when it will open at 11 a.m.

“There’s not a whole lot of places in this area that offer a true walk-up window,” Stranger said a couple hours before launch on Thursday. “People that live here don’t have places they can pick up food on the way home without having to go in somewhere. We’ve got fried chicken and fries. We’ve got a pickup window. No big deal, just delicious.”

As Stranger stated, BOOM! Chicken isn’t complicated. Chicken thigh cutlets are dredged in a special rice flour blend, which keeps it gluten-free, fried then tossed in spices before it’s served with a pair of sauces. Zap sauce is a variation on Green Goddess while BOOM! sauce is founded on the Korean chili paste gochujang. I particularly liked the thick slice of Texas Toast used for the cinnamon toast the chicken and fries ride out the door.

The ghost kitchen concept will operate out of One Table Hospitality’s Bar Cicchetti, where chef Ricky George calls home. Orders can be made online and picked up at the pickup door up the sidewalk to the east from Bar Cicchetti’s entrance. Meals come in 6-,9-, and 12-piece meals.

The new concept is just the first step in Stranger’s 2024 plans. He closed Osteria last month with plans to move it north a few miles into the burgeoning Britton District. He’s found success there with El Coyote. Ongoing road construction will dictate exactly when Osteria reopens, but when it does the restaurant’s genetic code will be different.

“It’s going to be an Italian-American Diner,” Stranger said. “Casual dining. No frills, just simple, delicious food.” 

Look for Osteria’s rebirth this summer. Meantime, Stranger and George will pump out Italian fare at Bar Cicchetti while simultaneously spiriting fried chicken out the side door.