Harold’s Chicken Shack

The location is now closed — the sign outside says to visit the location at 6843 S Ashland Avenue.

The Chicken wing combo and gizzards! OH MY GOSH! They are incredible and are by far the tastiest of all the Harolds Items! I got them in hot sauce and am not looking forward to completing my meal. They are beyond perfect tasting. I had chicken wings and gizzards but all I can say is that Harolds Recipe takes the cake, and also got a piece of Lemon cake just to satisfy my taste-​buds. This is the place you have been looking for! But a quick review tip, call first so that your order could be ready because it can get packed for sure.

The creepy sign advertising Harold’s Chicken shack on the outside of the building is bigger than the inside of Harold’s Chicken Shack No. 59. You walk into a tiny entrance, into a very dark, small dusty room, with a dusty very dimly lit menu on the wall that is so dusty/​greasy that it’s long past being functional. Then you see a small counter covered in bulletproof glass with two people behind it. It doesn’t look like a place where one would find food, let alone food that is actually eatable…
But place an order, You’ll be rewarded with super juicey/​crispy chicken in a tangy sauce. (I haven’t ventured past mild yet…) and a pile of fried covered in sauce as well which I was not a fan of… but thats only because I like to put my own stuff on my own fries.
It must be noted that they are take out only, so plan on where you are consuming your chicken before you go.

Everything about this place tries to convince you that eating here is a bad idea, but if you can survive the ordeal and conquer your fears, I have to admit that tasty fried chicken will be your reward.
I decided to be adventurous and take the #44 bus further south than ever before, just to see what new places I could find and visit and use to write a Unilocal review. On the way, something caught my eye around 72^nd Street — a Harold’s Chicken Shack. Now I somehow KNEW that name from somewhere, but had never had their food and could only remember someone saying it was excellent chicken. So I decided to swing back around and try them out.
The first warning sign was that I saw the giant Harold’s Chicken Shack advertisement on each side of the building, so I naturally thought it was the whole building. Well, the first door I get to has a big «YOU MUST BE 21 TO ENTER WITH PROOF» or something on it. That can’t be right… Turns out it was the door for the ET Lounge that takes up most of the building. Well, surely one of these doors is for Harold’s, right?
The second warning sign was the door with big ol’ rusty bars on it leading somewhere dark. Upon opening the door, well, it just didn’t look like a place where you could find food. The room was about small, dark, with a dusty soda machine in the corner, a dusty faded menu on the wall with words and numbers that can no longer be interpreted, and at the far end of this dark hall was a window of bulletproof glass. (See pictures for proof.)
Luckily there was another person in front of me, who seemed to be ordering food — so I kept assuming that somehow I could get some chicken here. I looked towards the wall by the bulletproof glass and found a paper menu that could actually be read. I trusted my insticts and went with the All Day Special of a ½ Dark chicken dinner that comes with 2 free wings — for $ 5.51.
The third warning sign was trying to speak into the «speakin’ hole» in the bulletproof glass, to little avail. I’m not exactly well-​skilled in that particular art, you know? Eventually the guy figured out I wanted a ½ Dark special. He asked if I «wanted mild on it». I shrugged and said «okay, whatever.»
The fourth warning sign was that the guy basically came out and said, «This your first time here?» «Yes,» I replied. He grinned this grin… as if to say, «oh boy, a first-​timer we can scare the crap out of!»
It was my first time, so let me describe to you what I’m watching transpire in the kitchen. I see my order being written on a white paper bag. The bag is placed on a table, and a white paper tray is placed on that. I watch the cook place two large slices of white bread on the tray. Next, a load of chicken comes out of the fryer and is placed in the tray — on top of the bread. Next, the fries are dumped on top, and the final stage is a slathering of reddish sauce. The whole thing is wrapped in wax paper and placed inside the white paper bag with my order written on it.
Yes, I watched this whole thing because. .. IT’S A FREAKIN’ DARK ROOM with nothing else to entertain me other than examining the layer of dust on the menu or soda machine, which got boring and disturbing really quickly.
The guy pops it through his side of the bulletproof turn-​a-​ma-​jig, and I ask him for a paper takeout menu. He has a puzzled look, and I point to the takeout menu taped to the glass. He shrugs and grabs one and puts it on my bag and turns the turn-​a-​ma-​jig and I collect my food.
I’m pretty sure I heard the two of them chuckling and/​or laughing as I made my way out. I’m pretty sure I was the first white person they’d seen in this establishment in quite some time, but I’ll hold off on the racial card.
Made it safely home and gorged.
I must say that this place is practically earning those 4 stars on the food alone. The ambiance alone should have kicked this eatery down to a 2 or 3, but after eating that glorious chicken with the tangy sauce, I have to admit that on my second visit, I will be less apprehensive and no longer a «first-​timer» they can make fun of. I’ll be a «second-​timer» they’ll likely still make fun of, but it’ll be worth it for that chicken.
I have to also admit that the fries were not great. I didn’t appreciate the slathering of mild sauce on my fries, but I will agree that it wasn’t half-​bad. I just prefer a little control over my food sometimes, and to leave it entirely in the hands of Harold’s Chicken Shack was a jarring, although tasty, experience. Oh, and the white bread? Sorry, but I found something tastier to absorb the grease to avoid intestinal damage during digestion — I could not bring myself to chow down on slices of white bread.
So all in all, if this is your neighborhood, you’ve probably already been here and you know it’s delicious and the employees don’t make fun of you as much. If you’re a pasty white guy like me who just loves good fried chicken — take the adventure and you will be rewarded with flavor.