Brad S.
Yelp
Although I've paid for $25 plates of fried chicken, its origin and ability to thrive is firmly situated in much less expensive sides of the economy. Chicken, seasoning, flour, oil, mouth - it's not a hard recipe, though Wichita can't seem to hold on to a quick-service fried chicken restaurant. You can find the pan-fried chicken of the historical Midwest at places like Stroud's and Neighbors, but simply good cheap fried chicken is difficult to find.
Perhaps it starts with the right location - buried deep amid the low-rent neighborhood of south Hillside, where you can find some of the city's best Thai, Lao, and Vietnamese food, as easy a walk for the surrounding denizens as it is a quick drive for the workers of McConnell and Boeing. Everyone likes fried chicken, and the mishmash of blue and white collars waiting for their orders at Krispy's is a testament to this.
It helps that the prices are even cheaper than you might expect. The chicken is only a couple of bucks, with mounds of fried okra, sweet potato fries, fried macaroni and cheese, and jalapeno poppers added for only a few dollars more. That these accouterments are the generic frozen kind is inconsequential with how little they're charging. As long as they're fried well.
Given how much of the menu uses the fryers, it's taken little time for Krispy's to get adept at producing a satisfyingly crispy piece of chicken that stays true to their name. Actually, crunchy might be a better descriptor - thick, craggy, crunchy pieces of chicken that satisfy the soul. The batter isn't very seasoned, but there's some on the chicken itself - particularly in the hot wings, which are non-traditionally coated in a Thai chile paste before getting battered and fried. While it would have been nice to see some traditional hot sauce or cayenne make its way into the batter too, the chile paste serves as a successful twist that certainly brings the heat.
While Krispy's is adept at the fryer, the waffle iron could still use some practice. The waffle was fluffy and plenty tasty even without syrup, but I like my waffles as crispy as I like my chicken. Regardless, the combination of the soft and slightly sweet waffle with the crispy and spicy chicken was a testament to why the combination works so well.
You're probably not going to feel very good about the amount of fried food you eat after your visit to Krispy's but you're definitely going to feel satisfied.