I always thought this was a relatively common dish that originated in Europe and was known throughout the country. But I’ve recently seen articles saying it’s a regional dish here in western NY and is uncommon outside this area. So I’m doing a survey. But not a poll because I’m feeling lazy.
For those who may be unfamiliar with it, Chicken French is a flattened chicken breast which is coated in an egg batter, fried, and served with a lemon/butter/wine sauce. I believe it was originally a veal dish. And while I have seen it done with fish, I’ve never seen it done with artichokes.
I have seen a similar dish with capers and/or artichokes and/or olives. I have never heard the term Chicken French. The name I have seen is Chicken Piccata.
Yes, I’ve had Chicken Piccata and Chicken Francaise. While they’re similar, Chicken French is distinct. I think it’s the batter. Chicken Piccata and Chicken Francaise recipes generally use a breading of flour and parmesan cheese. Chicken French is dipped in flour and then in egg. So the coating is more like a crepe consistency rather than a breading.
Never heard of it. But I have had chicken piccata with a more substantial breading than traditional flour dredge. But the person serving it still called it chicken piccata.
Yeah, it’s Chicken Francese (Italian restaurant) aka Chicken Francaise. Probably re-named by a western NY restauranteur who was nervous about mispronouncing it.
(“Chicken Piccata” has lemon juice and capers on it. This doesn’t.)
Never heard of it. I’ve lived in Illinois, Georgia, California, and Texas, and have eaten in restaurants frequently in all of them, and have never seen it by this or any other name. It does, however, sound tasty.
An article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in 2014 recounts the story of its birth. I’ll paraphrase.
There was a Brown Derby restaurant in the 1960s?-1970s in Rochester(NY). Veal Francaise(veal French) was one of their best items. World renowned. Sometime in the 1970s there arose a public movement against veal, much like the revolt against fur later.(but fur never tasted that great anyway ). So, they switched to Chicken. They even started to make artichoke French, Cauliflower French, haddock French–you get the idea. Soon, other restaurants started to copy. While Rochester was the epicenter, it spread to Syracuse, Buffalo and Utica.
Not in Milwaukee or elsewhere nearby in WI or IL, at least not so far.
We’ve had Francese and picata and other variations, but never heard of chicken French. Sounds yummy though!
Samclem @17. So it is just Chicken Francese? Which is one of the cutlet variations you see at any Mom-and-Pop checked-tablecloth candle-in-wicker-Chianti-bottle Italian restaurant: Parmigiana, Milanese, Marsala, Piccata, Francese.
I haven’t ordered a dish of chicken or veal Francese in years, but I remember it being a little…gloopier than the other cutlets. Somehow there was more presence of egg, making it a richer and heavier dish than Piccata, which was leavened by the lemon and vinegary capers.
(There was a Brown Derby restaurant just north of Independence, Ohio, and south of Cleveland on State Route 21, which in the late '60s-early ‘70s was my parents idea of high-class eatin’. I remember my usual choice being the Shashlik, or Russian Shish-kebab – skewered, marinated, grilled beef served atop a rice pilaf. Which isn’t Russian at all, but hey, 1968 Cleveland, who’d heard of kasha?
The restaurant was across the street from the big Goodyear sign, which was a visual landmark on that road for years, and I think got torn down a while back)
). So, they switched to Chicken. They even started to make artichoke French, Cauliflower French, haddock French–you get the idea. Soon, other restaurants started to copy. While Rochester was the epicenter, it spread to Syracuse, Buffalo and Utica.