This OTR restaurant got Polly out of her fried-chicken funk (2024)

Polly Campbell|Cincinnati Enquirer

I had been eating fried chicken almost once a day for several weeks when Ihad a meal at Zula Bistro. It was my first visit there in a long time.My husband and I sharedsome arancini, a lovely tuna crudo, a green bean salad and the fish special of theday, which was corvina on top of more salad.

It all tasted so good to me. Everything had fresh, clean flavors:theherbal flavor of leaves of parsley in the green bean salad, thepurity of the raw fish and the bright sunshine of orange with the dense flaky fish.

This is how I love to eat.

So I went back for a re-visit and a new review.

Owner/Chef Tsvika Silberberg is a highly-trained chef who could do all kinds offancy things, as he used to years ago at The Celestial. Instead, he offers a kind of quirky menu, full ofthings he likes. They're simply prepared,with freshness and flavor obviously the most important goals.

You can eat the food here on whatever combination you want, sharing with your friendsor treating it as a regular coursed meal if that's nicer for you. Salads are big enough to share for two but good enough to eat all oneself. Mussels obviously make a great center-of-the-table dish, as do flatbreads. The large-plate specials can be treated as a regular entree or also shared around the table.

This all works if you're trying to make it to a concert at Music Hall, across the park, or you have longer to linger.Or if you're coming after a concert, because they're open late. You can choose a meal that fits your time frame, and Zula is very conscious of taking care of music lovers.

Like the food, the atmosphere is simple but classy.The front room has windows with a view of Race Street and the park beyond. Then there's a backroom, giving Zula more space than many of its neighbors, which they often book for groups and parties. Lots of people eat at the bar, too.

On a return visit, I was eager to have theeggplant fries that I remembered from my first visit. These sticks are not perfectly cut to the same dimensions.But it would be irrelevant to care. Nothing gets crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside like eggplant does when fried. These are then dusted with powdered sugar! And there's a nice zippy hot sauce to dip them in so you get a lot of contrast in flavor and texture. I could give up french fries for these. Arancini are anotherfried delicacy but was the least impressive dish we had, lacking a good cheesy center.

We had Thai curry mussels, with vegetables and a lemon grass-scented coconut broth. The mussels dishes come with house-made bread, which is good, but I think I prefer the more commonly served crisp toast. We had beet salad, one of the few dishes with an elaborate presentation: a pile of beet cubes and Danish blue cheese surrounded by a mosaic of several sauces. It was more savory and hearty than many beet salads.The haricots verts salad was lighterand greener, withjust-crisp green beans, slow-roasted tomatoes and hearts of palm. And lots of parsley, which does have a flavor, though it's not often highlighted.

The tuna crudo was simply sliced, raw, just dressed a bit with herb oil, topped with thinly julienned radish.

I'd say go for one of the large-place specials. Both I tried were among the most delicious things I've had lately. The first one, the corvina, was a generous filet, a little crispy, served on a panzanella salad, with toast cubes and sections of orange as well as the usual tomato and greens.

And the duck. The duck.It was one breast, cut into slices. Each slicewas topped with a thin strip of perfectly crisped skin. We shared this, and every time someone took a bite, they'd say "Oh, man, this is good." It wasn't just the rich solid crispness, almost crunch of the skin. It was the perfectly tender meat, unlike a lot of duck that can be almost bouncy and rubbery.And the lentils it was served on top of, full of flavor. I don't think I would have gotten tired of it even if I'd had it all.

You could stop there, but there's dessert to order. We loved the raspberry cake. It's like a particularly rich cupcake or muffin, studded with raspberries. The brownie with a Kahlua topping was also nice.

The same server waited on us both times. She had that confidence of knowing the menu without having to awkwardly recite it all, with a breezy friendliness and a thorough eye on the details. Several people brought the food, as it was ready, part of the casualness of sharing.

I think things are just a little more expensive here than you'd expect from the casualness of the menu. The duck was $28. I thought it was worth it.

Zula Bistro

4 stars

Where: 1400 Race St., Over-the-Rhine

When: 5p.m.-1 a.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 4 p.m.-1:30 am Friday and Saturday

Prices: smaller plates $11.25-$13.25, mussels $15.25-$17.25; flatbreads $14.50-$16.75, specials up to $28.

Vegetarian options: Good: flatbreads, salads, eggplant. Excellent for pescetarians.

Reservations: Taken

Phone: 513-744-9852

Website: www.zulabisro.com

This OTR restaurant got Polly out of her fried-chicken funk (2024)

FAQs

What is the white stuff coming out of my chicken when I air fry it? ›

The white stuff coming out of chicken as it cooks is simply extra protein that dissolves in water and is forced out of the meat by heat. Food scientist Topher McNeil, PhD, explains, “The [chicken] muscles themselves actually contract and squeeze out the liquid that's in between muscle cells.”

What's the best oil to use for fried chicken? ›

Canola Oil

Benefits: With a high smoke point and neutral flavor, canola oil is excellent for frying chicken. As an added bonus, it has high levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which makes it healthier than other options.

What is the best fat for fried chicken? ›

Traditionally the best fat for frying chicken is lard. Today Crisco is favored by some cooks, other use vegetable oil. One trick for flavor is adding a few spoons of bacon fat to unsaturated cooking oil. Most important are three things: use no more fat than comes half way up the chicken.

What is the white spot on fried chicken? ›

If your cooked chicken has changed color, it is time to throw it out. Smell - If you open a container of cooked chicken and it has a new odor, especially if it is a sour, offensive scent or it suddenly looks or feels slimy with white spots or obvious mold—throw it out.

What is the white stuff leaking out of my chicken? ›

What is this white goo? It's protein and water released from the chicken's muscle fibers. Heat causes these fibers to contract, displacing some of the juices. If the chicken already has a nick in it, or if you insert a meat thermometer into the muscle to check the internal temperature, those juices rush out.

What is the white stuff on chicken poop? ›

A normal chicken dropping has a white cap and is brown in color. This white cap is urate. Chickens do not urinate so the urates are expelled with the fecal matter.

What does KFC fry their chicken in oil? ›

KFC products are fried in oil which may contain the following: Canola Oil and Hydrogenated Soybean Oil with TBHQ and Citric Acid Added To Protect Flavor, Dimethylpolysiloxane, an Antifoaming Agent Added. Like most restaurants, we prepare and serve products that may contain egg, milk, soy, wheat or other allergens.

Is it better to fry chicken in butter or oil? ›

Can you cook chicken with butter instead of oil? You have to cook chicken at a lower temperature if you bake or pan-fry chicken using butter instead of oil. This is because butter has a lower scorching temperature. Your chicken will cook more slowly, but it's also likely to be juicier and full of more flavor.

What oil do Chinese restaurants use for deep-frying? ›

Chinese cooks normally use soybean oil, vegetable oil, or peanut oil, all of which have a high smoke point. Peanut oil usually has a pleasant nutty flavor and is suitable not only for stir-frying but also for deep-frying. Canola oil, which has a high smoke point but a neutral flavor, is also a good choice.

What piece of chicken is best fried? ›

For maximum juiciness, always fry dark meat. Legs and thighs are the best for frying because they are less likely to dry out.

What type of fat is KFC chicken? ›

Most items at KFC, especially the burgers and original chicken, contain plenty of saturated fat.

What is the little blood in fried chicken? ›

Those that are processed for meat are often just 6 to 8 weeks old. At that age, according to the USDA, the bones have not completely hardened, so “pigment from the bone marrow seeps through the bones and into the surrounding area.” This can lead to a dark or bloody-looking appearance.

Why are some chicken breasts hard? ›

“Woody breast” describes a quality issue stemming from a muscle abnormality in a small percentage of chicken meat in the U.S. This condition causes chicken breast meat to be hard to the touch and often pale in color with poor quality texture.

What is the white stuff coming out of my meat when I fry it? ›

The white substance is actually protein that is cooked - just like a chicken breast turns white in appearance upon cooking. The white matter coming out of cooked chicken is denatured and coagulated proteins carried out by excess water in the chicken.

Why is my chicken oozing white stuff from the vent? ›

Vent gleet is essentially an inflammation of the cloaca, another name for a hen's vent. It present similarly to thrush and is caused by Candida albicans, though it can also be linked to the herpes virus. A hen that has been living in a cage with no cockerel is not likely to have vent gleet caused by a Herpes virus.

What is the foam coming out of chicken while cooking? ›

The bad news is that it's a coagulated concoction of fat, protein, and water that has been forming inside the chicken, which you've just released through heat. The same cause of this goo is also responsible for the foam that can form on top of chicken stock.

What is the white stuff coming out of my chicken patty? ›

It's just protein called albumin. Totally normal and safe to eat.

References

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