TOUR DE CHOW: GETTING 'PLUCKED UP'
When you live in Columbus, arguments are bound to happen when considering options for great southern food. That’s because the South has a special way of doing things. We take the best ingredients in any dish and double the amount called for by the recipe, making the barbeque and the fried chicken more savory, the mashed potatoes more cheesy and buttery and the breakfast food more hearty. Luckily, a lot of restaurants around here do it right.
I always thought my breakfast food was pretty good because I learned to make it in the southern style, but there’s a place I visit frequently called Plucked Up that does it the best.
Personally, I like it when a restaurant overcompensates, and Plucked Up Chicken and Biscuits is for the extra-hungry contender. This breakfast and lunch “destination restaurant” located in the heart of Uptown Columbus draws in hoards of hungry denizens eager to satisfy their appetites with dangerously alluring cuisine. The owner, Mark Jones— accomplished restaurateur and household name in the hospitality industry—tactfully created a menu that demonstrates the scope and range of southern comfort food and brings a unique style to an already delicious genre.
As the name implies, crispy crunchy fried chicken and fluffy buttermilk biscuits are available and stand well enough alone, but Jones spices up these classic ingredients with a variety of combinations that are both familiar and exotic. Take Mark’s signature biscuit sandwiches for example; one sandwich, The Alexi, contains grilled chicken with a goat cheese smear and house made tomato jam. Another, The Chelsea, is the most popular dish on the menu and has fried chicken with pimento cheese and a bacon-jalapeño jelly. I’ve visited Plucked Up more times than I can count, and I consistently order the Chelsea without question. It is a perfect balance of texture and flavor. Also, the jams and jellies are made fresh daily and demonstrate this in their quality.
While Mark has a unique style, he likes to keep recognizable dishes on the menu, because sometimes the classics just work. Diners will quickly recognize familiar items like eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce, deconstructed chicken potpie, and spicy chicken and grits. There is one dish, however, that is so sinful it should require a disclaimer– they call it the Chicken Coop.
The Chicken Coop, although luxurious, seems utilitarian in the sense that it serves an express purpose: to alleviate nuclear hangovers, or send victims into a food coma. The dish is comprised of two flakey biscuits covered in a creamy sausage gravy, topped with three eggs cooked to order, fried chicken fingers, crunchy bacon, and of course, melted cheddar cheese. You could share it with a friend, but after a few bites you might want the entirety of the dish to yourself.
First-time diners are sure to be entertained by the creative nuances of the menu, which mimic the playful theme found throughout the interior of the restaurant. Colorful contemporary artwork, reminiscent of an I Spy children’s book, scattered about the walls are a feast for the eyes. However, my favorites are the two enormous paper-maché chicken mannequins.
Diners can find the popular brunch location on First Avenue in the up-and-coming 1200 block. Though I like to sit inside at the bar due to its proximity to the kitchen (it is easy to become impatient when you know what’s coming), on a nice day, sitting outside can be fun. The lines are long and it’s quite entertaining to watch the jealous customers drool over your delicious dishes.
Plucked Up is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday mornings are the busiest, so be sure to make time to wait, as reservations are not taken and the lines are typically long. However, prices are affordable on a college budget, the portions are generous, and the friendly, informative staff is sure to anticipate your every need, making the wait worth your while.
More information and menus are available online at Plucked Up’s Facebook page.
