Flying high in OTR at The Eagle

**I apologize off the top for lack of pictures. We simply ate too quickly, and I didn't think of it. Here's a pic from the Burning Man exhibit instead**

Finally, after wanting to try it for well over a year, we had lunch today at the Eagle in OTR. After hearing great things about this super cool fried chicken joint for ages, I was quite concerned that there was no way the food quality could live up to the hype.

The vibe on Vine Street was very chill. There were tons of folks of all different walks of life milling about. Everyone seemed to be a in a good mood and there was none of the typical hustle and bustle feel that often accompanies these type of up and coming neighborhoods. Perhaps that might have been due to the 100+ heat index. It's just simply too hot in the Queen City to get worked up or in a hurry right now.

The restaurant itself is unassuming, from the outside. A small, pet friendly patio welcomes guests. Stepping through the door, I immediately was struck by the wooden accents, the large bar, and slightly too loud music. The hipster vibe was strong. I have no problem, in general, with hipsters, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that made me worry about the menu. While I can occasionally get on board with avant garde or ironic food options, I was truly hoping for just a solid fried chicken dinner. Initially, I was worried if we'd get just that or something overdone and over complicated. However, my worry was unfounded. While there was one instance of kale, they offer a super solid menu with pretty much everything you'd want to make up a great chicken dinner. Low on pretension and high on good solid food options.

There are a few app choices, a handful of sandwiches, the star of which seems to be the fried chicken sandwich, and three or four salads. However, the largest section of the menu is the fried chicken and sides. You pick from a quarter, a half, or a whole fried chicken. Groups of six or more can choose to go family style. Sides are sold ala carte at fair prices. They offer ten sides, and they all seem as if they'd be incredibly complimentary to the chicken.

We ordered sweet potatoes, half a chicken, and biscuits. The biscuits are considered a side. I would love it if they threw one of these in with each order of chicken because they are absolutely spot on, and it's brutal to have to pick them as one of your sides. You get three large biscuits with butter and blackberry jam. Neither mom or I are huge eaters, but let me tell you, we ate every bite of these biscuits. When they came out, I was worried because they look super pail and underdone. They aren't through. They are crispy on the outside, nice and fluffy inside, and pipping hot. Something about them reminds me of biscuits from "down home". That, my friends, is a fine thing.
The sweet potatoes were served in a small cast iron skillet with perfectly toasted mini marshmallows. Honestly, when mom suggested them as a side, I was a tad disappointed. I find most restaurant sweet potatoes to be overly spiced. These were not. There was a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, but it was by no means overpowering. The natural sweetness of the potatoes was present but not overly sweetened by other ingredients. Of course, the marshmallows topped it all off perfectly.
Then there was the chicken! Holy moly!! That chicken! Their chicken is free range and house brined. Now, I'm stupid picky about fried chicken. Most fried chicken, simply, just isn't very good. Over battered, under seasoned, and dry is how I typically describe fried chicken. None of those descriptors were appropriate in this case. The Eagles' chicken was just spicy enough to wake up your taste buds. The batter was thin and crispy, with a perfect blend of spices and seasonings. The give you a jar of spicy honey to accompany the chicken. I was personally not a fan of this condiment. If I had to guess, they mixed honey and hot sauce to create the blend. It makes sense viscerally. Honey is awesome on chicken as is hot sauce. Why not mix them? But, in my opinion, the entire sauce was overwhelmed by a vinegary taste I didn't care for. In the end though, it didn't matter. I just pushed it to the side and devoured the chicken. Even the breast was perfectly cooked and juicy. Anybody that knows fried chicken knows that's an almost impossible task to perfect.

It's rare we go out and don't have leftovers to bring home, but we didn't bring home anything this time. There wasn't enough left! I don't know if walking around the art museum for three hours before lunch had something to do with that or not, but I know the food quality played a large part.

We just ordered tea and soft drinks, but they have a fully stocked bar. We sat at the bar to avoid waiting for a table (on a Saturday afternoon), and all the drinks coming out looked fabulous. A nicely crafted Bloody Mary in particular caught my eye.
The entire meal with gratuity ran us about thirty bucks. It's not the cheapest fried chicken you can buy, but for the ambiance and quality, it's a fair price that I'll happily pay again in the future.
In the end, I give the Eagle a solid thumbs up. In fact, we're looking forward to going back and trying some of the other sides. I've got my eyes on the mac and cheese and spoon bread next time.