This month, we make our way to DC to Fancy Ranch Amish Fried Chicken for this pop-up at Union Market that opened Jul 1st and initially, it was going to run through the end of Sep. But due to the feedback that they have received, they are now looking for a brick and mortar location!
This concept is a love letter to fried chicken and its story started with Chef Reid Shilling 5.5 years ago with their restaurant Shilling Canning Company in the Navy Yard which is very local farm focused. It’s a proven popular menu item that became a no-brainer to have within this concept.
The fact that in this concept they provide this chicken at a high value proposition, it was a no-brainer as it is truly delicious.
They offer on the bone fried chicken with their most popular item is The Lone Ranger - 1 3 piece Amish fried chicken, 2 piece corn waffle smothered in PA maple butter, 1 side (baked beans, mixed to order Coleslaw, or Aji verde potato salad), and 1 sauce for under $20 (pre tax) even for Chef Reid Shilling’s signature recipe that’s drizzled with their housemade hot honey, toasted Anson mills benne seeds, and chives.
Their Ranch Hands Family Meal is a 10 pc chicken, 8 pc corn waffle, two large sides and all the sauces for under $55 - which feeds 2-4 people. At brunch, you can get a fried egg in place of the side, but also have the Which Came First which is a 2 pc corn waffle with boneless crispy chicken breast, shaved ham, melted havarti, fried egg and then drizzled with PA maple syrup.
Their Aji Verde Potato Salad uses their Aji Verde dipping sauce as the base, so it has a kick to it. It has fresh clipped basil from the Shilling Canning Company Garden, and is blended with parsley, cilantro, and green onion, so the sauce is very herbaceous and that’s where it gets its green color from. They use Aji Amarillo which is unique in that the heat doesn’t present on your tongue but rather in the back of your throat and then an overall warming of the body that leaves you needing more. For the potato salad, they fold that into some sour cream and then add more lemon and more basil.
It’s worth noting thay they have a range of sauces from fancy ranch, honey mustard, Aji Verde, house-made hot honey, hot sauce, and a really rich PA maple syrup sourced from Patterson Farm up near New York. That’s the same syrup they make the maple butter from that already adorns the corn waffles.
On Sunday September 28, they are doing the Arcadia Farm Fall Harvest Dinner in Alexandria VA. The dinner benefits their Veteran Farmer Program.
FANCY RANCH AMISH FRIED CHICKEN
Union Market
1309 5th St NE,
Washington, DC 20002
PHOTO CREDITS | Farrah Skeiky
Read the AUG ISSUE #116 of Athleisure Mag and see ATHLEISURE LIST | Fancy Ranch Amish Fried Chicken in mag.
