Charleston Fried Chicken: Bistro Nolah’s new project

Times are tough for everyone, and the team at Bistro Nolah is no exception. While the pandemic has kept some of chef Richard Taitt and his partners’ projects from coming to fruition, they’ve taken advantage of the situation to try a formula they’ve had in mind for a long time: Charleston Fried Chicken.

The project was already on the table before the pandemic, and the team was looking for a new location to open a restaurant that would specialize in fried chicken. But when the closures were announced, Richard, Chris, and Isabelle put their search on hold and decided instead that now was a good time to test their recipes and the enthusiasm of their clientele. So it was as a “ghost kitchen” that Charleston Fried Chicken was born in 2020 out of Bistro Nolah’s kitchens: “We ordered buckets, worked on our branding, and pushed our product. We’ll see where it takes us!”.

Authentic Southern fried chicken

The originally planned menu has been revised to really test Charleston Fried Chicken’s signature items. The restaurant features fried chicken, fries, and coleslaw. What makes Charleston Fried Chicken different from any other? Chef Richard Taitt once again took his inspiration from the American South: “Our chicken has a very light breading. The pieces are not made with 20% or 30% breading like the fried chicken you see most of the time. We wanted to stay true to the way the product is worked in the South. We have a beautiful product. Our fried chicken sandwich is fantastic.” Richard’s cooking has already been awarded and celebrated by connoisseurs, so we have to believe him!

We took advantage of our interview with the chef to ask about the upcoming projects for Bistro Nolah. There are still many projects in the works, and we quickly realize that the lockdown has allowed new ideas to surface: “We had started doing brunches before the pandemic and we can’t wait to get back to it. We don’t know if we’re going to do it exactly the same way as before, though. I haven’t talked to anyone yet, but we’re looking for a new space where we could potentially combine the brunch formula with the Charleston Fried Chicken under a new concept. Nothing is official yet, but we like the idea of merging these two projects that are close to our hearts.”

Elevating street food

If such a project materializes, Richard envisions serving elevated street-food style cuisine: muffulettas, po-boys and other such dishes would be on the menu. “We envision something more family-oriented. Not a restaurant where you have to plan your outing and call a babysitter. A place where we would serve a kind of street-food but more creative, more fun”.

One thing is for sure, we can’t wait to return to Bistro Nolah and discover what the owners of this Dollard-des-Ormeaux institution have in store for us. In the meantime, the Charleston Fried Chicken and the Bistro offer a take-out menu that will leave no one hungry!

Written by Marc-Antoine Ranger
Photography by Charleston Poulet Frit

Last update: September 27, 2022

Make a suggestion