Justin V.
Yelp
I hope that this was just an off-day when I visited Brown Chicken Brown Cow on Saturday, 4/22/23. This was an inaugural visit for a friend and myself - she lives in Williamsburg and we decided to meet (somewhat) halfway. I suggested BCBC and was excited to catch up while checking out a place I've heard good things about.
BCBC isn't the biggest spot, but they had a decent amount of guests already dining when I arrived. I was seated immediately and looked over the menu while Adin was caught up in traffic.
BCBC's interior is composed of a lot of wood and brick. It has a pub feel to it, which I liked. It was cozy and chill.
Moustapha was our server, although he never gave us his name. In addition, his presence was minimal - whenever we needed something he never seemed to be on the floor. From what I could tell, he was the only server on the clock. There was a bartender who was also serving, but she was running laps around Moustapha. As things got busier, a man who appeared to be the manager-on-duty was working as a food-runner.
Moustapha was quiet but nice, but it seemed like he was in the back more than on the floor. Plus, his awareness wasn't sharp - he'd walk to and fro without looking up. I don't know if that was intentional, but we had a tough time flagging him down as yelling, "Hey! You!" wasn't going to work.
My biggest issue with BCBC is the food - I came away unimpressed. When you include 'chicken' in your restaurant's name, that will be the first thing I order during my inaugural visit as I expect it to be amazing. Words like 'pickle-brined' and 'buttermilk' look good on paper - but the brine did nothing to enhance the chicken and its flavor profile. All it seemed to provide was dark skin - it was dark enough to appear overcooked. It wasn't overcooked, if you're wondering, but the skin wasn't crispy.
In addition, the chicken platter I had was supposed to come with a choice of dipping sauce. I didn't receive any sauce, Moustapha never asked me and I didn't read the entire menu description. That's partially on me, but Moustapha could've brought that up. Oh well.
Adin & I split an appetizer - the hot pretzels. We enjoyed them but there was nothing spectacular about them. They were served as pretzel sticks - I expected them to be served in the traditional pretzel shape while hanging from a small hook. The presentation isn't a pressing issue, so overall BCBC's pretzel was fine.
Adin had a burger and told me it was pretty good. So, points awarded there.
I bought a second chicken platter for my mom to take home to her, but she opted for coleslaw (I had the steak fries). Mom came away just as unimpressed with the chicken, too, and added that the coleslaw was, "the worst coleslaw I've ever had." Mom's not a slaw expert, but that's as damning a statement as I've ever heard.
Again, maybe Brown Chicken Brown Cow was off their game this day. I'll give them another chance down the line, but for now I'll stick with fried chicken places closer to home. JV