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Willie Mae’s Scotch House (New Orleans, LA)

Willie Mae’s Scotch House
2401 St Ann St
New Orleans, LA 70119
Dining date: 6/10/15 and 6/13/15

ExteriorWillie Mae’s fried chicken was probably the most highly anticipated bite of this whole trip for me. In fact, this might have topped the list of dishes I wanted to try in America. I’m a huge fan of fried chicken; Willie Mae’s is supposed to have some of the best in the country. Popularized countless times by the likes of the Food Network and Travel Channel, it kind of seems like the Peter Luger of fried chicken. Pretty much legendary status.

The menu at Willie Mae’s offers a host of southern specialties like a country fried pork chop, smothered veal, and fried catfish or shrimp. These items are supposedly good, but I’ll likely never know – we were here for fried chicken.

Interior

America’s Best Fried Chicken three pieces of chicken
Fried Okra
Cornbread Muffins

America's Best Fried Chicken three pieces of chickenAmerica's Best Fried Chicken three pieces of chicken

They really call it that. But I’d have to say, even with really high expectations, the chicken pretty much delivered. Without requesting it, we actually got all white meat (breast and two wings). It was certainly well-seasoned, I could see how someone may say over-seasoned, served hot out of the fryer and full of flavor. Very juicy too, especially for white meat. The batter had great crunch, carrying the seasoning and having great interplay with the moist meat. Fried okra was solid too, while the cornbread was OK.

Red Beans served with white rice

Red Beans served with white riceI’ve had red beans and rice on the west coast and thought I knew the dish. Nope. This was phenomenal, packed with so much delicious depth of flavor. Never had anything like it. Surely there was plenty of pork fat involved to make it taste so good. Wrong again. All of the sides here are vegetarian. Incredible.

Craving a taste of what Willie Mae’s dark meat fried chicken was like, we stopped by their other location near Tulane. Willie Mae’s Grocery & Deli opened late in 2014. It’s in a better neighborhood than the original spot and open on Sundays (the original isn’t).

America’s Best Fried Chicken three pieces of chicken

America's Best Fried Chicken three pieces of chicken

Dark meat was even better. As expected, it was generously seasoned, full of juicy flavor and again served piping hot.

I was happy to have a chance to try Willie Mae’s and even happier that it didn’t disappoint. In terms of fried chicken, for me it ranks right up there with Ad Hoc’s (which I had the pleasure of being able to try within a month of each other). The red beans and rice brought it up to another level, making for a great pairing with the chicken. It’s a combination that is really, really hard to beat.

4 Comments

  1. Pretty cool list of places you visited in New Orleans. I loved the fried chicken, but loved the pork chop even more. I think that’s a very underrated dish. I would actually give the edge to Ad hoc given the quality of chicken they use. I’m surprised you didn’t mentioned the neighborhood. I had to look outside a couple times to ensure our rental car was still there. My wife and I went to New Orleans in 2013 and ranked our experience as follows:

    1 Restaurant R’evolution
    2 Willie Mae’s Scotch House
    3 Peche Seafood Grill
    3 Central Grocery Co
    5 Mr. B’s Bistro
    6 The Company Burger
    7 Casamento’s
    8 Brigsten’s
    8 Galatoire’s (Friday Lunch)
    10 Restaurant August
    11 Cafe Du Monde
    12 Cochon Butcher
    13 Parkway Bakery & Tavern
    14 Morning Call
    14 Southern Candymakers
    14 B & C Seafood Market & Cajun Restaurant
    17 Drago’s Seafood Restaurant
    18 Elizabeth’s Restaurant
    19 Stanley
    20 Commander’s Palace
    21 Arnaud’s Restaurant
    22 Leah’s Pralines
    23 Antoine’s Restaurant

    We both choose classic restaurants, but different ones. We both choose celebrity chefs, but different restaurants for the most part. If you ever go back I would recommend R’evolution and Mr. B’s Bistro (for the BBQ shrimp)

    1. Haha wow that’s a pretty robust list. Thanks for sharing! R’evolution was on my radar but just didn’t make the cut with limited meals. Next time! Too bad to see Commander’s Palace so far down the list. Did you try Cafe Beignet? I actually liked that better than Cafe Du Monde.

      1. We tried two beignet places, Cafe Du Monde and Morning Call. Cafe Beignet was our 3rd choice. We’ll probably head their when we return in a few years. I’ll share a link to our trip once I post it. I’m posting our Germany trip now and it takes forever. Hopefully, I’ll get to the New Orleans trip by Sept.

        Keep posting and traveling, I always enjoy reading!!

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