Lord Stanley, a Modern European restaurant with a previous Michelin star, has been operating a little differently the past two years.
I dined at Lord Stanley in 2015 and had a pretty solid meal back then but the past few years they have been switching up their concept. While they still serve their food for most of the year, they have been operating Turntable which are basically pop-ups at their space for extended periods of time where world renowned or up and coming chefs can showcase their food. During these stints, Lord Stanley doesn’t serve their food. As soon as I saw that Pecking House was doing a month long pop-up at their space, I knew I had to try it.
Chef Eric Huang had previously worked at numerous fine dining establishments in Manhattan but during the 2020 lockdown, he was helping out at his parent’s restaurant in Queens, New York. During this time, takeout was the only option where his mashup of Nashville hot chicken and Sichuan fried chicken became an instant hit and garnered attention where he had a waitlist of over 10,000 people. By 2022, he was able to open Pecking House in Brooklyn, New York where the chili fried chicken is still the star of the show.
Their menu is concise and straightforward and I saw numerous tables getting most of the items available.
Sencha and Gravenstein Tonic.
This non-alcoholic beverage was so refreshing with sencha green tea and sweet Gravenstein apple juice.
Little Gem Salad with Buttermilk (8-8.5/10).
While the portion for this little gem salad was small, it was really well seasoned with a buttermilk green goddess dressing and furikake. Very fresh with lots of crunchy textures.
Salted Egg Chicken Tenders with Tsar Nicoulai Caviar (7/10).
While I wanted to love the chicken tenders, they were probably my least favorite dish. The chicken tenders were coated in a salted duck egg sauce and topped with caviar but I honestly would have preferred to eat the caviar alone.
Pecking House Classic Sando (8.5-9/10).
It’s hard not to love a classic fried chicken sandwich and theirs didn’t disappoint. The juicy chicken was enchased in that crackly crust and sandwiched between buttery broiche buns with their special sauce, soy pickles, and caramelized onions.
Chili Fried Chicken (8.5-9/10).
Their signature dish, the chili fried chicken, was also a hit. This might look like it would be unbearably spicy but it was actually quite mild in terms of heat. The chicken is coated in Tianjin chili and Sichuan peppercorn and those spices created a really floral flavor without being necessarily spicy. It does have that slightly mouth tingling and numbing sensation from the Sichuan peppercorn but not in an overpowering way.
Chive and Cheddar Biscuits-Not My Photo (8.5/10).
Somehow I completely forgot to take a picture of their chive and cheddar biscuits but luckily found a photo online. You can’t go wrong with a buttery biscuit with those delectable layers especially flavored with Cheddar cheese.
This was a fun way to try Pecking House since who knows the next time I’ll be on that side of the country! The chili fried chicken definitely lived up to the hype so my rating is an 8.5/10.