# Are you familiar with Chicken French? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803 "2017-06-12T20:38:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/1 "2017-06-12T20:38:01Z")
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. > **[Chicken Française](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_French)** > > Chicken Française (or Chicken Francese) Also known as "Wedding Chicken", is an Italian-American dish of flour-dredged, egg-dipped, sautéed chicken cutlets with a lemon-butter and white wine sauce. The dish is popular in the region surrounding Rochester, New York, where it is known as Chicken French, to the point that some have suggested the dish be called Chicken Rochester. When Italian immigrants arrived in Rochester, they brought their recipes with them, including veal francese, but th Despite ... [https://rocwiki.org/Chicken\_French](https://rocwiki.org/Chicken_French) > **[Rochester-Style Chicken French & Lemon Broccolini | The Artful Gourmet ::...](https://www.theartfulgourmet.com/2013/03/rochester-style-chicken-french-lemon-broccolini/)** > > This is an amazing dish that is popular in my hometown in Rochester, NY. The Italian-American immigrants first introduced this dish in NYC and then migrated Upstate. The recipe also known as Chicken Francaise, uses lightly-floured chicken cutlets,... ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/2 "2017-06-12T20:40:00Z")
I’ve lived in Central Indiana all my life, and nope. Looks good, though. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/3 "2017-06-12T20:41:56Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/4 "2017-06-12T20:44:29Z")
Northeast Ohio, and this is the first I’ve ever heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/5 "2017-06-12T20:44:43Z")
I’ve made it, but it’s not in heavy recipe rotation. ETA: My mom is from NYC. I grew up in Florida and never had it there. Have not seen in in New England, either. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/6 "2017-06-12T20:45:38Z")
Northeast PA. I’ve made it several times, so I’m familiar with it, but as Chicken Francaise. Never heard it called Chicken French. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/7 "2017-06-12T20:50:12Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/8 "2017-06-12T20:53:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 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. > > [Chicken Francese - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_French) > [Chicken French - Rochester Wiki](https://rocwiki.org/Chicken_French) > [http://www.theartfulgourmet.com/2013/03/17/rochester-style-chicken-french-lemon-broccolini/](http://www.theartfulgourmet.com/2013/03/17/rochester-style-chicken-french-lemon-broccolini/) Grew up in Western NY and never heard of it. Sounds like chicken picatta. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/9 "2017-06-12T20:58:37Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Grew up in Western NY and never heard of it. Sounds like chicken picatta. Me too. Rochester even. However, my parents weren’t _from_ there, so they might not have heard of it either I want some now. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/10 "2017-06-12T21:00:04Z")
I must not have looked very hard, but I’ve [never seen a recipe](https://www.google.com/search?site=&source=hp&q=chicken+francaise&oq=chicken+francaise&gs_l=hp.3..0l10.1775.4420.0.4556.18.15.0.0.0.0.335.2763.0j4j4j3.11.0....0...1.1.64.hp..7.11.2761.0..46j0i131k1j0i46k1.2rHsBlSx1c8) for Chicken Francaise that called for parmesan cheese (or grated cheese of any sort). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/11 "2017-06-12T21:08:11Z")
Never heard of it in Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/12 "2017-06-12T21:17:44Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/13 "2017-06-12T21:55:01Z")
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.) ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/14 "2017-06-12T22:30:08Z")
No, and I was born and raised in WNY. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/15 "2017-06-13T00:43:48Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Grew up in Western NY and never heard of it. Sounds like chicken picatta. > [@Procrustus](#): > > Me too. Rochester even. However, my parents weren’t _from_ there, so they might not have heard of it either I want some now. Seriously? Every restaurant in Rochester has Chicken French on the menu. And that includes the ice cream stands. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/16 "2017-06-13T00:48:22Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/17 "2017-06-13T00:53:33Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > 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.) Almost. 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. ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/18 "2017-06-13T01:11:21Z")
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!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/19 "2017-06-13T01:58:46Z")
**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) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803/20 "2017-06-13T02:04:58Z")
Never heard of it. Or Chicken Francese, for that matter. I mean, I can put together the parts of the name, but I’ve never seen it on a menu anywhere. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-familiar-with-chicken-french/788803.md?page=2)