SA Weekend restaurant review — Extra Chicken Salt on Currie St
A new CBD eatery takes its cues from an era that many of its customers will be too young to remember, writes Simon Wilkinson.
SA Weekend
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Living in the 70s? I remember random fragments that form an incomplete picture. Happy Days and the original Hawaii Five-0. Sundays nights in front of Countdown. Burnt orange tiles, shaggy rugs and beanbags. Long drives to campsites or a shack by the sea. Falcons and Toranas. And the soundtrack to these formative years? It could be anything from the Clash to the Carpenters but those hook lines never go away.
New CBD diner and bar Extra Chicken Salt channels all that nostalgic power in a package that, being realistic, will attract mostly those who are far too young to remember any of it first-hand.
Brought to life by the inventive minds behind Chicco Palms and Borsa, among others, ECS has a similar capacity to transport you to a different time and place.
On one level, it is an up-market barbecue chicken shop.
The takeaway counter, all that is visible from the footpath in Currie Street, offers Hero Rolls, pineapple fritters and chicken packs with chips, peas and gravy ready to go.
To the right, however, is a false “cool room” door that slides open automatically to reveal a row of tables and chairs (steel frames, rattan back, red vinyl seat) opposite an open kitchen that is framed by orange arches. It’s a scene that belongs on a proper gatefold album cover — a release from supergroup Yes, perhaps.
More seating and more tiger-print carpet is upstairs while out back a wood-panelled bar complete with mirror ball overhead looks like somewhere that Starsky & Hutch might have met up with their supergrass Huggy Bear.
Drinks and dancing (when that is allowed) will be the focus later in the night but even at dinner a host of colourful cocktails are pictured on the drinks list, with fruity garnishes and paper umbrellas all around.
The menu on the other side of the card is based around the chickens that slowly turn from pallid to golden brown inside a flash French rotisserie. Well-priced full or half birds are available to share but all of the mains (crumbed pork cutlet, beef short rib) are below the $30 mark.
ECS might be deliberately daggy but the team in the kitchen isn’t mucking around. Classic French technique is given due respect, even when there is a twist in the tale. Vegetable dishes are particularly inspired.
The chicken liver parfait looks a picture, inverted on to the plate with a shimmering lid of jelly like amber on top and a trickier transparent layer wrapping the sides. The parfait inside is extra-rich and super smooth but all the cream that is no doubt included hasn’t diminished the offal’s distinctive funk. Fingers of toasted white bread (of the supermarket variety) and cornichons are the only accompaniments.
Golden beets take a turn on the rotisserie before being cut into wedges and placed alongside other pieces that have soaked in a sharp vinegar pickle. They are laid on a chickpea puree with roasted almonds, whole chickpeas, baby chard leaves and a pomegranate molasses dressing.
The veggie main is nothing short of genius. Fat slices of maple-glazed jap pumpkin that have also been in the rotisserie are a good start but what makes the dish stand out is the unlikely duo of eggplant and gruyere cheese, whizzed up into an icky-looking emulsion that is luscious, salty, packed with umami and pitch-perfect with the sweetness of the hero.
A single serve of chook includes portions from the breast and thigh (on the bone), as well as a wing, with plenty of the skin that has been sprinkled with a seasoning similar to lemon pepper. Even the white meat is juicy and full-flavoured, but the dark even better.
A jug of gravy to the side isn’t the powdered stuff used in many takeaway shops but still lacks a little depth, while a dish of bearnaise adds extra indulgence.
The chips, as you might expect given the business name, are a source of great joy, with each and every one of them having the naughty crunch of those over-fried bits that are fought over in a normal packet. Three dunks in the hot oil will do that.
Sticky date pudding, however, doesn’t make it over the first hurdle. Sticky? Hardly. The tall cylinder is more cake than pudding, and a slightly dry one at that. A pool of butterscotch sauce comes to the rescue.
ESC has struck the right balance between deliberately daggy tribute show and a dining experience of substance. Staff are chatty, the playlist great fun, the chicken and chips terrific. Happy Days indeed.
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