For decades a small building in Bristol has churned out some of the best fried chicken in the state. On the far side of town, where Bristol begins shifting toward rural suburban paradise, Greer’s Chicken awaits.
It’s a bit of a trek off the highway, and even residents not in the immediate neighborhood think of it as somewhat of a destination. But that hasn’t stopped Greer’s from popping out poultry.
“People right in Bristol say ‘Oh, you’re on the other side of town’,” says owner Rich Plantamuro. “What are you talking about? We get people from out of state that come here just for good fried chicken!”
On any given day Rich is at the frialators, dunking basket after basket of chicken. Local teens take orders and prep food, while Plantamuro asks them about their day. The whole setup is friendly with a small town feel.
Plantamuro has run Greer’s Chicken for 26 of its more than 50 years in business. The original owners were related to a family named Greer, and at one point the area was part of a chicken farm.
The menu is chicken: Fried chicken. Roasted chicken. Buffalo wings. Even fried chicken livers ($4.99 a pint), which taste like pate with crunch. There are chicken nuggets (the typical pre-fab morsels, $3.99 for 6, $5.99 for 12), but Greer’s ups the ante with its own housemade chicken chunks that are worth bypassing the nuggets for. The juicy white meat pieces can be doused in sauce. We order 1/4 pint each of plain ($3.99) and honey barbecue ($4.99).
Rich drops the frialator baskets with the chicken chunks along with a drumstick and thigh ($1.80 each), 6 piece nugget, and small order of sweet potato fries ($2.95).
“I hate the term fast food,” he says. “This isn’t fast food; it’s different. There’s a lot of TLC here.” Everything is portioned and prepped on-site, and cooked to order.
There’s barely enough room to stand inside the small shack, never mind sit and eat. A shaded picnic area next to the building offers space for those too eager to wait. My companion and I pony up to a table, spread out the takeout containers of fried bounty, and begin the feast. The sweet potato fries are gone almost immediately, done in by their addictive sweetness.
Chicken is up next. The skin isn’t as thick and crunchy of a texture as I’m used to, but is still delicious: juicy and flavorful but without the grease. Solid.
A side by side match up of chicken nuggets to chunks has the latter winning by a landslide. The honey barbecue chunks are even better. With a pool of sauce left in the bottom of the container, I toss in a few of the un-sauced chunks just to keep it from going to waste.
The meal is gone in minutes, a destination worth the trip.
>>Greer’s Chicken, 64 Matthews St., Bristol, is open Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Credit cards are accepted. Information: 860-583-3191 or 860-314-0828 and www.greerschicken.com.
