I follow a couple of the other influencers from the Capital Region on Instagram, and there’s definitely a handful of restaurants down there I pay attention to. But it’s not the same as how I follow Rochester, Central New York, and Buffalo. So my list of restaurants to visit in the Capital Region isn’t very deep. But there’s one that’s been on my list for a while now, and I’m thrilled to say I finally got to visit.
The restaurant is called The Nest.
Now, truth be told, there are a lot of restaurants on my list that I don’t remember putting there. That’s not to say they aren’t good. It’s just that over the years, as people recommend restaurants, or restaurants reach out and ask me to come visit, or I’m scrolling Instagram late at night and find restaurants, they go on the list. And I don’t always remember why they went on the list or what kind of food they offer. I just know they go on the list, and then I make a point to get out there one day.
Lindsay, who helps me schedule my restaurant visits, will put me at a restaurant, and when I see it on the list of places I’m going that day, I’ll often ask, “Why am I going there?” and Lindsay will reply, “Because you have them on your list.” That’s what happened with The Nest.
Now, that’s not to suggest I wasn’t excited or happy to be there. I only say that to say I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into the restaurant and found out they were known for fried chicken and biscuits.
As someone who grew up in Kentucky and has lived in other parts of the South throughout my life, I very much miss the culture that surrounds good old-fashioned, home-style cooking and Southern fare.
It’s not that we don’t have Southern fare and home-style cooking in some parts of New York. But there’s something different about the air and the culture and the people when you live in those areas, compared to just living in a part of the country that has those styles of restaurants. Does that make any sense?
Here’s what I mean by the culture of home-style cooking. It could also be called the culture of obesity, but if I’m being honest, I think there are more obese people in my community now than there were when I lived in Central Texas.
In Central Texas, there was a small regional fast food chain I loved eating at. It was called Golden Chick, and in case you couldn’t guess, they sold fried chicken.
Not only did they sell fried chicken, they made fried chicken their bitch. You could get bone-in, eight-piece buckets of fried chicken if you wanted, but I always went for the same thing: their Golden Chick spicy tenders. Juicy chicken tenders with an incredibly crunchy breading and a seasoning and spice that would make your lips go numb. The tenders came with your choice of side, and I always chose the fries, which had that same seasoning on them. And without question, no matter what you ordered, you got served a honey yeast roll and a side of white country gravy. That’s right — it didn’t matter what you ordered. You were going to get a yeast roll and a side of white country gravy.
On my first visit to Golden Chick, I thought this was absolutely ludicrous. Why would I get a side of gravy with chicken tenders? By the end of my three years there, I didn’t question it anymore. I just licked the bowl clean when I was done with my meal. It was just part of the culture out there. The gravy wasn’t an extra indulgence with your meal; it was standard.
Now, I’m not suggesting we should all live in places where bowls of country gravy come with every single meal. But it was different — different than it is here in Upstate New York.
My longing for this sort of culture and Southern home cooking was taken care of when I entered The Nest.
The Nest feels like a hip restaurant — sort of country meets industrial. Wooden and metal surfaces. Lots of greenery and old books. Shelves and mirrors and a neon sign. And the plates are vintage china they’ve collected over the years.
When I sat down and asked the owner what I should try for the video, I was so pleasantly surprised when she told me they were most known for their fried chicken and biscuits. So that’s exactly what I ordered.
I ordered the four-piece, which comes with a thigh, a breast, a drumstick, and a wing. I ordered a side of biscuits and a few other things, and when I went in the back to film the food being prepared, the chef told me he wouldn’t let me leave unless I tried their fried green tomatoes, which they’re known for.
When they brought the food out to my table to make my video, I was in heaven. The fried green tomatoes were stunning — crispy on the outside, tender on the inside without being mushy. Adorning the three fried green tomato slices was a portion of pimento cheese, smoky and delicious crumbled bacon (bits they made themselves, not something poured out of a shaker), and a house-made dill ranch. This dish was delicious. It was crunchy and smoky and cheesy and salty and exactly what I wanted.
But the fried chicken and biscuits are what really did it for me. Have I had better of both in my life? Yes. But these were wonderful and a welcome comfort. The fried chicken was incredibly crunchy on the outside but still very juicy and flavorful on the inside — no doubt due in part to how they treat the chicken, but also to their use of a pressure fryer. The biscuits were hot and buttery. Sitting down to a meal like this, one I hadn’t had in some time, reminded me of my time spent in the South.
If you had given me a side of fried okra, some macaroni and cheese, and a tall glass of iced sweet tea, I would’ve been right back in Central Texas.
I’m failing to do The Nest justice with these words, so I hope the video does better.
It’s a beautiful restaurant with plenty of seating and a fun bar, a welcoming and knowledgeable staff, and a menu filled with things I’d love to go back and try one day. If you’re down in the Capital Region, I highly recommend checking out The Nest — I’m sure for many other wonderful things on the menu, but especially for the fried chicken, the biscuits, and the fried green tomatoes.
