Dish No. 82: Roasted Old Fashioned Chicken at Jones Wood Foundry

By Robert Sietsema Sun., Jul. 17 2011 at 8:00 AM

Categories: 100 Dishes to Eat Now, Sietsema

J.W.F.'s roast chicken in all its propeller glory

You're liable to run into trouble claiming your food is old-fashioned, since no one can agree just what "old-fashioned" means. Indeed, there is something distinctly not old-fashioned about the fussy arrangement of elements on the plate in the "roasted old-fashioned chicken" at Jones Wood Foundry, a newish Brit gastropub on the Upper East.

The chicken doesn't come in normal-looking pieces; rather, it has been butchered to fit atop the three extruded masses of mashed potatoes that radiate from the center of the plate. As if you could tell exactly the shape of the chicken in the first place -- it lies concealed under an extensive stack of shivered leaks snowed with fresh parsley.

But while the arrangement of elements is pure gastropubbery, the taste is, well, old-fashioned, I guess. The bird is done to a turn, browned without being over-browned, the flesh moist, the bones bony. Utterly enjoyable as a poultry-eating experience. The potatoes are the usual buttery mash, and the gravy is so rich (yet not too thick), that eating it is a pure pleasure. This is bar food par excellence.