$17 Fried Chicken Vs. $500 Fried Chicken

- Oh look who it is. Andrew! Andrew! - How did you find me? - It's the day. The day we were all waiting for. Fried

chicken

. - Fried

chicken

. - Fried chicken. - Let's eat that

fried

chicken. - Alright. - Alright. - Today, it's fine. We're in New York City, honey. Today, for what it's worth, we're going to try three

fried

chicken places at three drastically different price points to find out which fried chicken is most worth the price. - Come on. - We have to talk about it. - My name is Kenneth Woods. I am president and CEO of Sylvia's.

In fact, I am Sylvia's son. - It's an iconic place, this restaurant. - Yes, back in the 60s, everyone left the south and came to the city. Sylvia is a home away from home. Everyone felt comfortable. The stars, the politicians, the mom and dad. A few weeks ago we turned three years old. Ladies who were over 90 years old and had three different parties. - The great tie. - We do it traditional southern style. Just like my grandmother used to make her chicken. - Is that where the recipe comes from, is it a family recipe? - Yes.

We use a three and a half pound chicken, cut it up nice, then season it evenly, not just season it and throw it in the fryer. Massage it like you would clean a baby with baby oil. This is how chicken is made. - You create a baby with love and you create a fried chicken with love. - That's right, you treat fried chicken with love. Let it marinate and then dip it in all-purpose flour. Pat to remove excess, fry for 12 minutes and enjoy what you're doing. - Yes. - It's amazing to be the oldest, the authentic, the original, all those little phrases, you know, they mean something. - Okay, I think it's time to try the fried chicken. - Damn fried chicken. - One of the best meats with one of the best preparations.

Welcome to the city of flavor. Oh man. Oh, here's a little extra crunch. - The skin is a perfect shell. - It's like armor for a chicken knight. - Are you ready? - I'm ready. - My God, it's so juicy from behind. - I'm ready. - Fried chicken. MMM. - That's (bleep) good. - Oh, I'm lost. Oh wait, no, I'm in fried chicken heaven. That's like music to my ears. It's so juicy inside. It's just melting like butter. - It is a food that is bathed when cooked, it has to be good. I am amazed at how simple the preparation is to get this product. - That's when you know you've mastered a craft, when you can make it look easy. - It really is seasoned to the bone.

Perhaps the saddest sound of a fried chicken dinner. (bone clinking on plate) That was less dramatic than I thought it would be. - Dramatic or drum-like? - Did you just make a pun? - Dra-matic or dru-matic? - I think Steven just made a good pun. - Yes, that was on purpose. Let's try some of the cabbage leaves. - That's perfect to eat along with this. Pretty good (bleep), right? - I just left Sylvia's, which is right there. We're going to Red Rooster, which is over there. But we have to scale back this fried chicken a bit.

So, do you want to take a walk around the block? What did you think of Sylvia's? - Crispy, simple, juicy. I can't ask for more than that. - So now let's... - Wait, wait, wait, did you hear that? That's what it sounds like: made from fried chicken. According to the National Chicken Council, the average American eats more than 90 pounds of chicken each year. - I guess that makes sense. It's disgusting when you think about it. I imagine a 90 pound chicken that looks like a Rottweiler. - Oh. - I guess this is what a small dinosaur would look like. - Does your belly feel good? - He is ready for more, he is always ready for more. - Alright. - Did you just try to hold my hand? - No.

You are standing very close to me. Well. - Fried chicken. - Welcome everyone. My name is Chef Marcus Samuelsson. Right now you are at Red Rooster. When I thought about Red Rooster, I thought, "How do I approach fried chicken?" Being neighbors of Harlem's most iconic restaurant of all time, Sylvia's, we can talk a lot about what we have in common. What does it mean to be a restaurant in a community like Harlem? For me, it's about hiring. We have about 180 employees, 70% from Harlem, so I never would have imagined that the community would take such ownership of the restaurant.

It's a tug of war. When we make a mistake, they will let us know, when we improve something, they will let us know. - What is the name of the dish we are going to eat today? - Fried yard bird. To me, Yard Bird was like birds running around the back, you know, when you didn't have food, you could go out in the yard and just carve up a chicken. And it's something that comes from both my Ethiopian heritage and my Swedish heritage. I want a seasoned oil, so I'm going to season it with a little rosemary and garlic.

We have our bird. A little brine, sugar, salt, a little buttermilk. The best thing is that the bird can spend the night there. And then in our flour mixture, we have a batter, but I'll let you know that's the only ingredient that's in that mixture. - And what is that? - It is a mixture of spices from Ethiopia. Big chiles, not super spicy ginger, garlic, it has that beautiful Ethiopian flavor. You want the right amount of flour to get that crunch. I landed on fried chicken twice. The first frying is really about cooking it right. Then you take it out and let it rest.

Then you just dip it again and fry it so it's really nice and crispy. I have a little bit of oil from that flavored oil that we cook in, a little bit of honey and our rooster sauce. Everything I've used appears again. It is truly a reflection of the poor man's cuisine. If you ever think about food in the South, everyone who was working class ate pretty much the same thing. From there certain points of flavor emerged. As migration increased the population, the food remained. Obviously, it tastes different in New York or Detroit than it does in Virginia or Kentucky.

The methods continue to exist since jazz emerged, and today we have hip hop thanks to it. DNA is really the food of migration. - Then we have the Yard Bird. - We also had bourbon on the rocks, because it's a hot day in Harlem. - Oh, I'm ready. Strangely, very sweet. - Yes, he said there is spicy honey in that. Hot honey is what they called me in high school. - Tell me who called you that. - Nobody. - I bet on that. - Sure, do it. Because this one is clearly better. -Ooh. - It smells so good.

Oh Lord. - I have it on my nose. Greetings chicken. - That's some juicy chicken, holy (bleep). - That's a sophisticated flavor. - It's that nice, deep, toasty, slightly bitter nutty flavor I was talking about. - Andrés with the adjectives. - Adjective Andrés. - Oh. - I can't believe how juicy this meat is. And the skin is... - Perfection. - Oh, (bleep). - I just took some skin off my Bourbon. - The skin is crispy and melts in the mouth. That's like making love and I don't have any experience in that department. - Actually? - I don't know, but if I'm going to be honest, that's how I imagine it is.

The chicken and I have become one. - Did you know? I'm not going to spoil anything for you. It's all over my face, I know. - You look like the Joker. He is so good. - It's crazy. - I can jump? - Please. - I really thought I was going to eat that, but it's okay. - Shall we go next to the cornbread to absorb this? - It's dirty, man. - A lot in a good way? - (Chef Marcus) Yes, word for the bird. And just like that, he left. The structural integrity of this skin with the coating is unreal.

It is soft and flexible, but strong and mysterious. - Adjective Andrew, let's get back to that. - Adjective Andrés. Sweet Potato Yam. Yams are like mashed potatoes for dessert. Then there is a piece of chicken left. I can have it? - Can we ask for more? -I asked Marcus if he had any suggestions for dessert. - It's so hot. - Turns out Make My Cake makes a fantastic cake. Thank you. That may have been... - It was the best fried chicken I've ever had. I said it first. - I couldn't have said it better... - We went to the fried chicken place par excellence in Harlem. - Now let's go to: the city of fried chicken facts. - Oh, I forgot about that. -How much chicken do you think the United States consumes each year? - A billion chickens. - A billion chickens? - I'll recalculate a little. - Very good, recalibrate. - Two billion chickens. - Not bad, eight billion chickens. - Eight billion? - Eight billion chickens. - So we ate a billion chickens, I was only missing a billion. - No, we eat eight billion chickens. - So we went to Sylvia's, the fried chicken place par excellence. - Iconic. - Red rooster. - Game changer. - Now let's go to the center.

The fried chicken will be served on a noodle bar. It's so hot in New York, my brain doesn't work, not anymore. - Hello, I'm Dave Chang. We have met before. We're at Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village. - The last time we saw you was in Korea. - I think you should try eating the chili. - Alright? - Yes, it's very spicy (beep). - Woooo. Now we can try your food. Does that make you nervous? - I'm terrified. - Because? - Because I'm competitive, and if we don't win... - It's not a competition. - I'm probably the most competitive person.

Basically, we serve fried chicken like Peking duck with caviar. I understand how stupid and almost idiotic that sounds. In no way am I trying to disrespect fried chicken or caviar. I think it works tremendously. The person who is actually cooking is Tony Kim. He is the executive chef of all Noodle Bars. Every time Tony cooks, it is a pleasure. We brine the chicken in a buttermilk solution for a day, the buttermilk helps tenderize it and adds flavor. Great fried chicken is all about having cracks while frying. Doing this is about creating irregularity in the dough. For this we have created a flour and spice dredge.

And then when you fry it whole. We let it rest for at least 30 minutes, because we don't want it to be too hot. Create all the sauces and garnish. Chive crepes, white sauce, chives and cream fraise. We are preparing it with what I believe is the best national caviar, from Regalis. Some of the most beautiful sturgeons. We will also accompany it with some smoked trout roe. The salinity and oceanic flavor of caviar are perfect for white meat. Present it to the table, show it and then we'll bring it back and cut it. In reality, that is a more complicated process.

You are peeling the skin and cutting at the same time. Handle it as you would a Peking duck. This is not something you should eat every day. If you're meeting your friends in New York City and haven't seen them in a few years, this is the kind of meal you'd want. And if you divide it between five or six people, it's not so bad. - As a friend of Worth It, would you have the honor of dining with us today? - This is gonna be great. This is one of my favorite things to eat. - That looks nice. - Many Chinese New Year ducks are eaten this way. - Is this like the great chicken and egg joke? - Chicken, egg and caviar.

That is one of the most classic culinary combinations. This is just a mature egg. I'm going to make you one, what do you think? I'll let you eat white meat, just to see. This is cream fraise with chives. Again, this is something that is a traditional side dish. - Oh yeah. - Idaho sturgeon. - Health. ♫ Hello sun, hello sky ♫ Hello white clouds floating ♫ Hello refreshing summer breeze ♫ It comes whistling through the trees ♫ Hello sand and hello seas - Wow, okay, okay. - I hate how good this is. Those are the two most impressive textures, side by side. - This is like one of the most complex things I've ever eaten, despite being so simple. - I'll make you one with trout eggs.

It's very different. ♫ Hello positivity surrounding everything I see ♫ Hello happy, hello free ♫ Hello to you and hello to me - Okay. - That's (bleep) crazy. - Go from very hot fried crispy and then have those bubbles in your mouth. It's like going to the fair and then fireworks go off, all in your mouth. - It reminds me of a raid on a refrigerator. For some reason, I didn't eat all of this amazing food. We have a scallion pancake, we have chicken. Oh, (beep) and I have caviar. - Is it strange to mix the two? - I've never actually done that.

You are going to make history here. - Pioneer. Not so good. - Do you want to get in on this quickly, Adam? - Can I make one for you? (laughing) - Oh, you're doing something I like. The thigh, battered. - I actually wanted to dip this in the caviar, but I thought it would be rude to you. - No, no, no, no, that's not rude at all. - It's not? - This is like a fever dream. - Oh, (bleep). Well. I have never sworn on camera before on this show. That bite was very good. - I didn't even tell you about that.

I wanted to see if anyone was going to do what you did, eating that fried chicken like that. - Yeah? -And you passed the Willy Wonka test. - Damn. - It's a can of paddlefish. - Oh. - It's cheaper, but you can get a lot more. If we're going to make fried chicken caviar, let's go all the way. Just dip it in and line everything. - Where we are? Oh. - This is like an ice cream cone with sprinkles. - Health. (laughs) - Sorry, I can't help but laugh at this. - That's the whole point. I'm in this to win it, man. - This is going to ruin me, I think.

You know those weird people who bring their own salad dressing to a restaurant? - Yes. - I'm going to start coming to fried chicken restaurants with my own can of caviar. - I love mixing things that are high and low, or things that, traditionally, shouldn't go together. When I look at this, I'm inspired by France, China, and the American South. So, for me it's not really aboutabsolute shock value. The first thing is always that it is delicious. Number two, respect the cultures you take it from. Yes, this is a bit perverse, but if you really look at it, it actually makes sense. - Yes, and at the end of the day, I don't care what you're making, if it looks good in my mouth, that's all that matters. (laughing) - Here you are, sir. - Thank you.

Oh Lord. - Really put it in there. Cut it, cover it. This is like filming a rap video or something. - You simultaneously drooled as you tried to take those last few bites. - It feels like you're doing something wrong, right? - Very good, should I say my winner? - Did you know? Yes. - Noodle bar. - I predicted you would say Red Rooster. - I know, I thought I did too. The best bite of food today was the first bite of the Red Rooster Yard Bird, but for this type of comparison, I'm going with Noodle Bar.

People often spend $150 or more to see their favorite artist. You could very easily argue that going out to a dinner like that is just as powerful a performance, so to speak. - Wow, let me explain to you how it should really be. Sylvia's is the OG. She set the standard for fried chicken in America. But I thought Red Rooster would be all of our Worth It winners, because Red Rooster is my Worth It winner today. - As it should be. I mean it was really good. - It really was the best fried chicken I've ever had.

It was magical. Adam? Who was the winner of Worth It? I know what you're going to say, you're going to choose the same one as him. No you are not. No you are not. Are you serious? - Adam chooses Momofuku Noodle Bar. Thanks for watching the fried chicken episode. It's worth it, out. I love a mix of dishes, very enjoyable. That's something I aspire to have in my own home, but I think it takes a long time. Maybe a really tough weekend of antiques and I could pull it off. - Ugh, I need some more bourbon. - Oh yeah.