Peach's Hot Chicken
Stop what you are doing now and go get some Peach’s Hot Chicken. In this age of likes, shares and ‘grams, many things are all hype, but the reality often falls short when it comes to the delivery. However that is not so with Peach’s Hot Chicken. I first tried Peach’s at Laneway a couple of years ago when they were working out of a cute little food truck. And I do recall, it was the best fried chicken sandwich I’d ever eaten. But being the sort of person I am, I’m not one to go traipsing after food trucks particularly when they have no fixed abode or schedule. And then they opened a permanent home in Panmure.
I’m going to keep this short and sweet, much like their menu. If it’s your first visit, you must try the OG, the original hot chicken sando that got me hooked all those years ago. Fried boneless thigh tossed in spices (the level of heat depends on you) sandwiched between a brioche bun with homemade pickles and aioli. They also have a Baller sandwich that, as its name suggests, comes with all the trimmings including cheddar cheese, coleslaw and Nashville comeback sauce. If you’re feeling like a bit of a purist, they have quarter meals (and halves too) simply served on a slice of good ole’ white bread with pickles and a side of your choice.
On my recent visit to Peach’s, now that I didn’t have to try balancing dinner off my lap in a park, I opted for the less wilderness-friendly, fork and knife affair of chicken & waffles. Theirs was easily the best I’ve had in recent memory. Fried boneless chicken thigh made-to-order as medium spice (which made me work up a sweat, just to warn you) was served atop thick fluffy waffles with whipped garlic butter melting into the ironed lattice-work with chilli maple syrup on the side. The first thing to say is Peach’s chicken is truly the best thing I’ve eaten in forever. Hot, juicy and crispy, this chicken tastes like it lived a happy life and the kitchen has really treated it with love and respect. Not greasy, not dry, and just full-on flavour that doesn’t veer into being too sour (unlike some of their contemporaries…). The whipped garlic butter added a lovely savouriness to the whole dish without being raw and overpowering in flavour, and the waffles a subtle sweetness that tickled my predilection for the salty and the sweet.
Wanting to leave with some semblance of virtuosity, I suggested ordering the braised greens as a side to the quarter fried chicken, but was overridden by my significant other who instead opted for the pimento mac & cheese. Whether it excites you or repulses you, fluffy, dollar-loaf style white bread is the perfect vessel for sucking up the residual red juices from the fried chicken. Because to leave any behind is a travesty otherwise. The mac & cheese was tasty albeit a little chalky, a rather nostalgic reminder of the mac & cheese of my childhood.
We finished off dinner with an order of banana pudding. Magnolia Bakery’s version in New York City is legendary, but short of a 19 hour flight, this I think is the next best thing. Layers of Nilla wafer (a vanilla flavoured biscuit from the States) and sliced banana intermingle with vanilla pudding and whipped cream, the biscuits softening to a light sponge. The process of devouring this dessert is oh-so-comforting. Still not sure what I’m talking about? Think of a nursery-version of tiramisu, minus the booze and coffee and cocoa, and add banana.
“I was worried this had been be too hyped, but it totally lived up to my expectations” gushed Mitch. Although this wasn’t my first time eating Peach’s Hot Chicken, sometimes you end up being time and memory’s fool. However my latest visit to Peach’s new home only served to reinforce how fantastic their hot chicken (and everything else that comes with it) truly is.
Peach’s Hot Chicken
100 Queens Road
Panmure
Auckland 1072