A Chicago institution that’s been serving up fried bird for decades, Harold’s is one of the city’s quintessential restaurants. Luckily for us there are plenty of locations across town, most of which are located on the South Side. The signature dinners include a quarter or half order of white or dark meat along with fries, coleslaw and two slices of bread to soak up all the greasy goodness. You can’t call yourself a true Chicagoan until you’ve had Harold’s.

Big Jones has perhaps the best lunch deal in the city with its fried chicken special. Chef Paul Fehribach’s Southern heirloom cooking uses a classic Edna Lewis recipe, brining Amish chicken in herbs and spices before frying it in leaf lard, ham drippings and clarified butter. It’s enough to induce an afternoon food coma. And if you can’t make it for lunch, it’s also available during dinner hours as well.

Food truck-turned-storefront, The Roost is a new spot focused on Southern down-home cooking. It’s also the closest you’ll get to authentic Nashville hot chicken without leaving the state. The chicken is slathered with a fiery cayenne paste that has a hint of sweetness and is definitely not for the faint of heart. Try it if you dare, and you may never think of fried chicken the same way again.

Nestled next to downtown Evanston and the Northwestern campus, Evanston Chicken Shack has been a neighborhood favorite for more than two decades. The meat is seasoned with just the right blend of salt and pepper and served with a side of barbecue or hot sauce. Toss in a biscuit with the order and you’ve got a meal that keeps them coming back for more.

Although smalls. might be known more for its Asian-influenced barbecue, the fried chicken is no afterthought. It’s brined in buttermilk and lightly breaded for crispy, juicy pieces of white or dark meat. It’s never easy to pass on brisket but it’s okay in this instance. You won’t even care that you’re eating in a tiny shack the size of a bedroom.

The Longman & Eagle team’s chicken joint has been a hotspot since it opened and it’s easy to see why. The chicken is brined before mixed in a buttermilk hot sauce with plenty of spices thrown in. The results are moist, flavorful pieces of fried chicken with a little bit of heat. Grab a spot on the ever-popular patio when it’s nice out, order a few drinks and you’ve got one of the best seats in town for fried chicken.

The popular Avondale spot was born from a series of pop-up dinners and fans continue to flock here for the excellent fried chicken. The restaurant butchers its own chickens in-house but unlike other places, removes the bones before frying. Yet the meat remains as juicy and flavorful as the competition. Slather on some of the signature honey butter for a sweet and salty mix that’s reminiscent of syrupy chicken and waffles.

Brendan Sodikoff’s red-hot steakhouse might not boast about its fried chicken as one of the signature dishes but it should. It’s perfectly crispy, juicy and served with a side of hot sauce and buttermilk ranch. And while it probably won’t be the first item on the menu that catches your eye, you’ll have the last laugh over your steak-eating friends once you take a bite.