What Is It About Fried Chicken?

So 7x7 took a video camera to SPQR and, for the second time, we got to see Nate Appleman, executive chef at A16 and now at SPQR, wax philosophic. This time it was about fried chicken. When asked what he would want for his last meal on earth, Appleman said, “fried chicken and chocolate chip cookies.”

Well, that rang a bell. You know who wants fried chicken in spades? Convicts. You may remember our appalled/fascinated discovery of the Texas Death Row last meals website (shudder). A whole bunch of those convicts wanted fried chicken. Many also wanted chocolate chip cookies. It’s pretty easy to understand why–fried chicken and chocolate chip cookies are both delicious and both comfort foods. But still, for a high-end executive chef, the heavily tattooed Appleman has some very simple tastes. This makes us like him even more.

We liked him when we first saw him in an A16 video and we like him a whole lot, now. Could Appleman be poised to join Paul Reidinger on our professional crush list? Probably not. We’re not a chef. But it does seem like it’s about time to start working on lining up a kitchen visit to SPQR. Maybe with a lunch invitation thrown in. Here’s the video:

What Is It About Fried Chicken?