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Robin Garr

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Free-range chicken adds value at The Eagle

by Robin Garr » Wed Nov 14, 2018 10:56 am

Free-range chicken adds value at The Eagle

LEO's Eats with Robin Garr

The Eagle’s crisp, fiery fried chicken is billed as free-roaming and cage-free.
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The Eagle landed in Louisville two years ago this month, fourth shop in a Cincinnati-based mini-chain. I have to confess that I didn’t pay much attention at first. But then I found out that The Eagle isn’t just another Highlands bar. Its fried chicken is also a big thing. It’s not your industrially fried chicken, either. It is, according to the firm’s website, “cage free, free roaming, all natural chicken.”

This is a big deal to me. I’d much rather enjoy cage-free birds if I can.

So, coincident with LEO Weekly’s fried-chicken special this week, we settled in for a late lunch. I feel quite a bit better about The Eagle now. I can recommend not only the chicken but some particularly interesting salads, a grilled cheese sandwich, and at least one crunchy, spicy starter as well.

The restaurant, which previously housed El Camino and before that, Avalon, is spacious, sprawling over several floors with a large rectangular bar dominating the main-floor space. Heavy use is made of dark, rustic wood, which with faded dark red painted walls gives the faint impression of dining in a clean, orderly barn.

The beer, liquor and cocktails list takes up a page-and-a-half of the menu, the food only a little more than a half-page, which at first appeared to confirm my hypothesis that its primary function is as a bar, not an eatery. A closer look prompted a double-take, though.

Except for the signature fried chicken ($7 for a dark or light quarter, $11 for a half or $19 for the whole bird), the menu is limited to snacks, salads, sandwiches, and sides. But those are anything but boring. Four appetizer snacks include pickled country vegetables ($6), brown-sugar and cayenne-crusted bacon ($7) and more. A trio of salads, available small or large, range in price from $4 to $11. A half-dozen sandwiches are $7 (for grilled cheese) to $12 (for a blackened shrimp po’boy or a BLT with a fried chicken breast thrown in).

The drinks list is extensive, including a dozen draft beers – all American craft beers, many of them regional, save for the mandatory Guinness – a half-dozen cocktails, about 50 bottled beers; 30 whiskeys, mostly Bourbon, of course; and a short wine list. ...

Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/free- ... cken-eagle

You'll also find this review in LEO Weekly's Food & Drink section today.
http://www.leoweekly.com/category/food-drink/

The Eagle
1314 Bardstown Road
498-8420
http://eaglerestaurant.com
https://facebook.com/TheEagleLou

Robin Garr's rating: 84 points

Noise level: We found conversation easy during a late lunch, when most of the main-floor tables were occupied, but only one person, engrossed in his laptop, sat at the bar. You can count on more noise in the evening. (Average sound level 75dB, with a single loud peak to 88 dB)

Accessibility: The entrance is barrier-free, but parts of the restaurant are up stairs, and most of the main-floor seating is on high chairs at the bar or high-top tables or raised booths. I could see only one table for eight that would easily accommodate a wheelchair user.
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Steve Eslinger

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Re: Free-range chicken adds value at The Eagle

by Steve Eslinger » Wed Nov 14, 2018 11:37 am

Nice review, thanks. I love the place. Their chicken sandwich is outstanding (although a challenge to fit in one's mouth), as is their roasted pork sandwich. That one seems to be inspired by the one served in Philly's Italian Market.
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Margie L

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Re: Free-range chicken adds value at The Eagle

by Margie L » Mon Nov 26, 2018 6:59 pm

We ate there over the weekend. While the fried chicken was excellent, the sides were amazing. I could have eaten a selection and not missed a main. Tried, and deemed delicious, mac and cheese, greens, spoonbread, and fries. We were served garlic aoili with the fries and spicy honey with the chicken. Piled some greens on spoonbread and poured the honey over it :D.

As an aside, I ordered a mule, which, while well made, was slightly on the high side (being $10), but had enough of a kick that I could have shared it.

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