Fry the Coop flies high on the fried chicken sandwich craze

It was love at first bite when Joe Fontana had some Nashville fried chicken at “Top Chef” winner Richard Blais’ San Diego-based Crack Shack.

“I just became obsessed,” said Fontana, who was determined to bring the distinct style of fried chicken back home and has since opened three Fry the Coop restaurants in Oak Lawn, Elmhurst and the Loop (Wells Street Market), and is opening another one soon in West Town.

“It was that distinct flavor, that specialness that just lingers, you can’t get it out of your head. [It was the] addicting flavor that drew me to it.”

Joe Fontana is the owner of Fry The Coop. — Joe Fontana is the owner of Fry the Coop.

Fontana — who spent nearly a decade in a punk rock band — was unhappy with his job in software sales while living in San Diego when he took a class at a culinary school to hone his skills for the meatball-centric pop-ups he had just started.

Fontana, who attended Willowbrook High School and the University of Illinois at Chicago, had always loved cooking since watching his Sicilian grandmother whip up Italian meals for the family.

So naturally, the Villa Park native thought a meatball-themed restaurant would help steer him away from the stressful, soul-sucking corporate job that was making him lose his hair.

But then he went to Crack Shack and his strategy to break into the culinary world changed. Soon, he started experimenting, creating his take on the Nashville hot chicken sandwich.

The sandwich not only changed his career trajectory but brought him back home. Fontana, his wife and their newborn baby came back to the Chicago area in 2017 and opened their first Fry the Coop in Oak Lawn.

The original Fry The Coop restaurant is located at 5128 W. 95th Street in Oak Lawn. — The original Fry the Coop restaurant is located at 5128 W. 95th Street in Oak Lawn.

Fry the Coop has four variations of the chicken breast sandwich: Nashville Fried Chicken (with a vinegar cole slaw), Chicken & Cheese (with two slices of American cheese), Spicy Butter Fried Chicken and Donut Fried Chicken (donuts in lieu of buns). You can customize the heat level in your sandwiches by choosing the spice level: country (no heat), mild, medium, hot, crazy and “Lil’ Insanity.”

The “Lil’ insanity,” designed by Executive Chef Francisco Morales, includes cayenne, ghost, habanero, Carolina Reaper and Trinidad scorpion peppers. Each location sells around 10 sandwiches each day using the “Lil’ Insanity” spices.

“It’s literally a one, two, three, four, five punch in the face,” said Fontana, who has tried the “Lil’ Insanity” just once. “You can feel it burn your intestines. It’s 48 hours of pain.”

Various Nashville hot chicken dishes served at Fry The Coop — Various Nashville hot chicken dishes served at Fry rhe Coop.

The halal-certified (always fresh, never frozen) chicken breasts, sourced from Mar-Jac Poultry in Alabama, are tenderized and placed in a dry brine (cayenne, paprika, garlic power, onion powder, and brown sugar) for 24 hours. The chicken is also breaded by hand and fried twice in beef fat — first to seal in the juices and a second time to ensure extra crispiness.

The “Come Back Sauce” is made with mayonnaise, ketchup, chopped pickles, Louisiana hot sauce and pepper. Most sandwiches — made with light brioche buns from Highland Bakery brushed with butter and heated in a vertical toaster — come with sweet and spicy bread and butter pickles.

“It’s the perfect bite of crunchy, salty, sweet, acidic in there and the fattiness. It’s the perfect bite, and add spiciness on top of that,” Fontana said.

Also on the menu are a jumbo tenders plate and a chicken & waffles dish. The waffles, with bacon bits and pearl sugar in the batter, are served with spiced butter and maple syrup.

Nashville hot chicken and waffles made at Fry The Coop. — Nashville hot chicken and waffles made at Fry the Coop.

Local craft beers are served to wash down the heat. Hand-cut fries follow the original McDonald’s recipe of using Russet Burbank potatoes fried in beef fat.

The West Town location will be the first Fry the Coop to have a full-service bar.

The Nashville hot chicken tenders served at Fry The Coop. — The Nashville hot chicken tenders served at Fry the Coop.

“I just love making people happy,” said Fontana, who hopes to open a total of 15 Fry the Coops in the Chicago area. “I’m super prideful about it.”

Fry the Coop locations are at 5128 W. 95th St. in Oak Lawn, 623 W. North Ave. in Elmhurst and 205 W. Wacker Dr. in Wells Street Market, and the next opens soon at 1529 W. Chicago Ave. in West Town. For more information visit www.frythecoop.com