We restaurant chicken lovers are natural-born optimists. No matter how many limp-skinned, dried-out birds we encounter, we keep believing the next one will be better — crispier, more juicy, less expensive — even if that’s rarely true.
But when chicken is done right, it can be an experience in and of itself and all the reason you need to visit a restaurant. Over the last month, I tried as many experiential chickens as I could handle. These three are winner-winners.
Butter chicken, two ways
You’re not seeing double. Musaafer in TriBeCa is the second place in town to serve a “butter chicken experience.” At Adda, which added the dish to its menu in the spring, customers make a range of selections, such as the wood chips over which their chicken is smoked and the seasonings in their butter, then watch it come together tableside.
But I prefer the butter chicken experience at Musaafer, which has been on the menu at its original location in Houston since 2020. It’s prepared out of sight — a relief once you see how much butter goes into the one at Adda — for $42. You can choose between a classic tomato-based curry, with a sweet, intensely smoky flavor that reminded me of Sweet Baby Ray’s, or a second version featuring a sauce thickened with tomatillos. It’s not much of a looker, but I loved how the tart tomatillos cut through the cream. Afterward, we wiped up both bowls with paratha, roti and naan.
133 Duane Street (Church Street), TriBeCa
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