After five years, Soho Kitchen & Bar chef and owner Nolan Konkoski was ready to hit the reset button on his popular Ohio City spot last fall. With a new name — Soho Chicken & Whiskey — the Southern-inspired restaurant now boasts more versions of its popular fried chicken and a greater focus on its whiskey menu. “Over time fried chicken became what we’re known for and what we do well,” he says. “It was kind of a no-brainer to move more of our attention on to that.” Here are three new reasons to visit.
Bird on a bun sandwich, $14: A staff specialty that finally made its way onto the menu, this sandwich layers a crispy chicken breast with pimento cheese, coleslaw, dill pickles and a spicy remoulade. “We took the classic Chick-fil-A sandwich and put our stamp on it,” he says. “It just grew out of something that we ate all the time and loved.”
Sunrise chicken dinner, $17: A variation of a fried rice appetizer that used to be on the menu, the Sunrise plays off an Asian stir-fry with sweet potatoes, andouille sausage and bacon. “We saute all of that in a wok, and then throw in Carolina gold rice and finish it with an egg yolk and peas,” Konkoski says. A fried chicken breast and thigh are served on top.
Colonel E.H. Taylor Bourbon, $7.50 per ounce: With more than 120 American whiskeys behind the bar, aficionados will like this Buffalo Trace small-batch collection. It is bottled in bond, which means it is made at a single distillery, by one distiller in one distillation season and aged for at least four years at 100 proof. “For anybody with that palate for bourbon, it just hits that sweet spot,” he says.
More Info: sohocleveland.com
