Bar Chicken

At the Calico Bar, locals have loved this dish of seasoned dark meat cooked in a wood-fired pizza oven for more than two decades.

// By Samantha Simma

Some dishes build a reputation slowly, becoming part of the local dining rhythm not because they’re flashy, but because they’re consistently good. Bar Chicken—a generous plate of wood-fired chicken legs and thighs paired with artichoke hearts and dressed in a lemon vinaigrette—is one of those quiet classics that regulars have counted on since the mid-2000s.

“At least one person from my family is going to get the Bar Chicken every time we go to Calico,” says Jackson local Rachel Kunkle. “Sometimes I think it’s the reason we go to Calico. For me, it guarantees leftovers, and I even take the bones home and make bone broth out of them. It’s a circular feast where you get dinner for a night and lunch the next day.” 

The dish first appeared around 2005. At that time, the restaurant ordered whole chickens, and there was an airline chicken breast entrée on the menu in Calico’s main dining room. This left the legs and thighs available. What started as a practical way to use the entire bird turned into something hungry locals began seeking out in Calico’s Bar on its own. (Bar Chicken is not on the menu in Calico’s main dining room.)

Even as Calico evolved and moved away from whole chickens, which happened around 2011, Bar Chicken stayed. “Locals love it—and we love our locals,” says Julie Broughten, Calico co-owner. “I do think there could be some uproar, petitions, or Calico boycotts if we removed it from the menu.”

Not only did Bar Chicken stay, but it stayed the same. “We marinate chicken legs and thighs in a mixture of olive oil, red pepper flakes, and other seasonings,” Broughten says. Next, the chicken is paired with artichoke hearts, and both are tossed in a lemony vinaigrette that brightens the dish and balances the richness of the dark meat. It’s cooked in a regular oven at 375 for 45 minutes and finished in the restaurant’s wood-fired pizza oven, where the temperature is approximately 600 degrees. “The high temperature of the wood-fired oven makes the skin nice and crispy,” Broughten says.

When it comes to pairing, the Bar Chicken is flexible. The lemon and slight heat make it easy to match with a crisp white wine—Broughten’s preference—but it also plays well with other beverages. A citrus-forward cocktail echoes the brightness of the vinaigrette. A light-bodied Italian red complements the char from the wood-fired oven. Beer drinkers might lean toward a clean lager or a pale ale to cut through the richness.

Finally, Bar Chicken isn’t only delicious, but a good value. “We serve up a pound of chicken with a Calico house or Caesar salad for under 20 dollars,” Broughten says. Kunkle adds, “The whole bar menu at Calico is the bargain of the valley. But the Bar Chicken is not only a bargain—it’s also filling and delicious.”  JH