Monday, July 25, 2011

Harvest Fried Chicken in Woodbine -- Perfect For A Pick-Your Own Picnic At Larriland Farms

Now is the time to plan your fried chicken picnic to go with an afternoon of picking your own fruit.

Larriland Farms is kicking into high gear.  Peaches, plums and blackberries are coming out in the heat, and the next three months run through raspberries, tomatoes, apples, and the Halloween events.

You have to get out there, and you should pair a healthy excursion with a fried chicken picnic.  Get your chicken at Harvest Fried Chicken -- a counter-service spot at the same exit off Rte 70.  Their chicken comes crisp and moist even out of the display.

I devoured a breast and wing as takeout.  There's a salty punch to the skin.  They're bulky pieces.  Even the wing had real meat, and the breast had that perfect ratio of chicken to coating.  On a Sunday afternoon, the customers flowed through, so I feel like the chicken hadn't sat long under the heating lamp.  I tasted a touch of oil obviously, but it's fresh, not greasy or tired.

For me, you can't beat homestyle chicken, especially because I don't have the appetite to coat my kitchen in oil by frying at home.  Harvest has a dining room, but it's an uninspired spot.  I recommend takeout and picnicking at Larriland -- just from your car or sitting on the edge of an orchard.

Personally, I would bring my own sides to the picnic.  Christian L. talks up the coleslaw and baked beans on Yelp, and they look homemade.  But I like something lighter where the main course is fried.  I made sauteed cucumbers from Growing Up In A Korean Kitchen that would contrast nicely.  Or I'd look for a salad with vinegar or a touch of spice.

Of course, I might try a piece of Harvest's pie.

Harvest Fried Chicken is in a shopping center just north of I-70 at the same exit as Larriland.   The alternative to fried chicken is a picnic of pulled pork and barbecue.  The Town Grill in Lisbon is just south of I-70 off the same exit.  They smoke and grill meats -- including pulled pork, ribs, and smoked salmon that you could bring home.


If you want fried chicken in the more-developed part of Howard County, check out Chick 'n Friends in Columbia, which now delivers to offices.


Harvest Fried Chicken
710 Lisbon Center Dr
Woodbine, MD 21797
(410) 489-5870

NEAR:  Harvest is in a shopping center with a Food Lion.  It is behind a gas station and a Pizza Hut.  Take the Rte 94 exit off I-70 and turn northbound.  The shopping center is right after the first traffic circle, so you can turn right at the circle and drive through the gas station or go through the circle and then turn right at the next driveway.

Harvest Fried Chicken on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

kevlar51 said...

Zombie post--I finally got a chance to try out Harvest Fried Chicken. I'm not a huge fried chicken fan. I don't hate it, but whenever someone tells me "this is the best fried chicken ever," I find it's still not all that special when compared to other foods.

That opinion changed after eating this chicken. Delicious and crispy batter, together with impossibly moist chicken is the winning combination that Harvest has evidently perfected. My wife was devouring the skin she'd have otherwise cast aside and I was loving the white meat just as much as the dark (I usually avoid the breasts). Nice work HFC :)