Lothson’s Karry Out

This place would be considered a ghettho chicken shack if it were so he were else. The chicken is early priced admit very good. It takes forever for the food to come and the service is slow. I’m not sure if they were this slow fifty years ago and only the longevity and uniqueness of this place is why it is considered a local institution. The hours of operation is another issue and joke.

They’re only open a few hours a day and only make so much food — if you’re lucky enough to get an order in and you like fried chicken, you will be happy. Extra crispy fried chicken.

65 years of experience and they still can’t figure out how to answer their phones or have regular business hours? Sounds like they’re doing it wrong. Supply and demand is pretty simple. Figure it out.

Delicious! Real, homemade fried chicken. Call about 30 minutes before you want to pick up your order. The sides are ok, but the chicken is to die for.

I needed to Unilocal this place!!! This is one of the best fried chicken I have ever had! I order a head of time and she packages it up and it stays hot until I get home which I live 35 mins. away. It is amazing! If you want delicious fried chicken like grandma made this is the place. The only problem is she is not open enough!

Absolutely amazing down to every last detail. EXCELLENT chicken, and I mean EXCELLENT. I don’t think I’ve had better chicken to be honest. And for the price… wow — I feel like she practically gives the stuff away. The fries and ‘slaw are pretty good too, but the chicken and the rolls are perfect. Not to mention it’s just one kind lady running the place so service is awesome. It’s like grandma opened up a restaurant in her kitchen.

Love This Place!!! very limited hours but worth it! FF kinda suck but everything else is outstanding!

It is quite simply the best fried chicken you can get. It is made the way your grandmother used to make it, dredged in flour and then deep fat fried. It is absolutely juicy and delicious! I would highly recommend it to anyone who calls himself a fan of real homemade fried chicken

I’m not huge on fried chicken, but hot damn, this place is good. The food is cheap, tasty, and the place certainly is kitschy. The hours are pretty limited and you have to call ahead of time, which is a bit of a pain. However, it’s well worth the small amount of hassle.

This was our first trip and it was one we will repeat! If you’re a fan of fried chicken, you know that it’s often really difficult to find just that perfect place. Lothson’s is one of those places.
Fresh & cooked to order, a wonderful lady at the fryer continues a tradition that’s been unchanged since 1949! They do One Thing & They do it very well! CHICKEN! You have to try it! Call Ahead…

Definitely phone in your order ahead of time.
Chicken was good. Owner was friendly. Place was clean.

DeKalb’s best kept secret awesome chicken at great price

JANET & Mrs. Lothson, her mother-​in-​law have a great thing here and over 50 – 60 years if I remember correctly! THE BEST KRISPY not CRISPY but KRISPY Chicken in DEKALB COUNTY! Sycamore, Illinois people get your chicken here. Also the coleslaw is OUT OF THIS WORLD! This is the best. I cannot stand coleslaw and I cannot get enough of this. I had 3 sides of it last time, next week I’m going to get 5 sides of coleslaw and make it my main dish! I LOVE YOU GALS!

DeKalb may not have many culinary of gems, but THIS IS ONE OF THEM!
First, Lothson’s – affectionately referred to as CHICKEN (all caps) in our household – is a true DeKalb cultural experience. For years, I never went here because I was convinced it had closed in 1955. The truth is that it opened in something like 1945 and has had only two owners since then. The current owner does everything – answering the phone, keeping the accounting, taking orders, and cooking are all in her impressive multi-​tasking repertoire.
Apparently this place was once a full restaurant, but that has not been the case for YEARS. Instead, it is now a carry-​out only establishment with a fantastic collection of kitschy country chickens decorating the tiny waiting area. The owner prefers that you call in your orders ahead, but I recommend that, on your first trip there, you order and wait just to get an opportunity to chat and here interesting history-​of-​DeKalb tidbits you couldn’t find anywhere else.
Everything on the menu is more-​than-​reasonably priced, and the chicken is FANTASTIC: crispy, juicy, perfectly seasoned, and impressively non-​greasy – even after the journey home. This chicken is so good that it would warrent 6 stars if that were an option.
The only reason I’m not giving Lothson’s a full 5 stars overall is because of the sides, which are mediocre. The fries, though hand cut, end up extremely soggy, either right out of the gate or at least by the time you get home. Maybe eat your chicken first and then the fries? I imagine that a little oven time would make them pretty wonderful. The coleslaw is the vingegar style, which is good for what it is but is not my favorite type. Their hours are also extremely limited, so you’ll have to learn the secret handshake before ordering.
Sides notwithstanding, Lothson’s is well worth your time. RUN, don’t walk your way here. You’ll be glad this chicken crossed the road.

Best fried chicken in town. Take out only. Limited hours. They raise their own chickens for «CHICKEN».

The chicken is excellent. The cole slaw is excellent as well, but the french fries are not so good; they are a bit soggy. As the name implies, it is carry out only. The food is prepared when ordered so if you don’t want a short wait (twenty minutes for us), calling ahead is advised. We will definitely be going back.

Chicken was the jam! Quick, cheap, and delicious!

I want to Love this place, I am a sucker for Historical Places. But the Chicken is just Ok. It had nothing spectacular in the way of flavor. There is no seasoning used at all in the fried chicken. They were very stingy with the fries also, that were not that great anyway. I would have loved some mashed potatoes and gravy, but I guess that is too much trouble to make. This place was probably much better back in the day when it was a sit down restaurant. Now it is take out only. The back of the place is cluttered with who knows what. Give it a try if you want to, but do not expect anything special.

Now, I’m not a fried chicken connoisseur but to me chicken was just ok. Here’s the breakdown:
I got the 3 piece dinner; 2 chicken breasts, 1 drumstick; cole slaw, french fries
Pros:
Absolutely fresh chicken
Large portions
Appropriately priced for freshness and size
French fries were fresh and a good portion
Cons:
Too greasy (just too greasy for my preference)
The cole slaw tasted like it had apple cider vinegar and cinnamon in it. Not a fan.
They don’t have proper carry out containers. This may be nitpicking, but I want a real container, not a paper plate over my food.
All in all I’m giving this a ³⁄₅ because even though I didn’t enjoy it I’m sure there are plenty of fried chicken fans that would make this place a regular stop.

I can not believe how many treasures I have been finding this past year in DeKalb. I attend school At NIU and now am back working for the school. I am shocked I never noticed Lothson’s open before.
I would suggest calling in your order before, if you can. If not have some time to walk around. Everything is made to order so it is fresh. The chicken was very tasty and moist. I will be returning for sure.