WHO HAS THE BEST FRIED CHICKEN IN ASHEVILLE? YOU DECIDE!

The People of Asheville Are Voting for Their Fried Chicken Champion!

I use my Facebook page a LOT, in order to reach the other eaters with pictures of food, news about food, and to ask questions, and seek recommendations for myself! Until recently, I had never done a Facebook Poll, so one day, I randomly decided to try one to do a Fried Chicken Challenge between two Asheville favorites: HomeGrown and Buxton Hall Barbecue! I uploaded two pictures of fried chicken sandwiches, posted the poll, and asked the people to vote for their favorite.

To my surprise, it was fun and popular, with a lively conversation around it, and a pretty good rate of participation! So, I decided to stage several more “fried chicken fights” via Facebook polling, and to structure them like a good old fashioned, elimination tournament, comprised of 8 contenders vying for the title of Asheville’s Fried Chicken Champ!

In this tournament, the first round consists of 4 head-to-head fights, then in round two, the winners from round one face off in 2 fights that will determine who will meet-up in the championship round to fight for the belt!

The Contenders Are:
• HomeGrown
• Buxton Hall Barbecue!
• Rankin Vault Cocktail Lounge
• 67 Biltmore Downtown Eatery + Catering!
• Rockys Hot Chicken Shack
• Tastee Diner
• Haywood Common
• Sand Hill Kitchen

The winner of the Asheville Fried Chicken Challenge will be pronounced
The Fried Chicken Champion of Asheville!

ALL VOTING TAKES PLACE ON FACEBOOK

Scroll down to see past results and future battles.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
ELIMINATED276 Votes 45%	HOMEGROWN vs WINNER! SAND HILL KITCHEN	WINNER!335 Votes 55%

WINNER!126 Votes 83%	Fight 1 151 Total Votes WINNER! HOMEGROWN vs RANKIN VAULT Homegrown moves on to the Championship Round!	ELIMINATED25 Votes 17%

WINNER!  456 Votes 79%	Fight 3 580 Total Votes WINNER! ROCKY’S HOT CHICKEN vs TASTEE DINER Rocky’s Hot Chicken moves on to Round 2! These two sandwiches were ordered through Takeout Central, who sponsored a contest during this battle. Voter Stephen Harrington won the contest and received a $100 credit!	ELIMINATED124 Votes 21%

WINNER! 43 Votes 66%	Fight 2 65 Total Votes WINNER! RANKIN VAULT vs 67 BILTMORE AVE DOWNTOWN EATERY & CATERING Rankin Vault moves on to Round 2!	ELIMINATED 22 votes 44%

WINNER!  280 Votes 73%	Fight 1 381 Total Votes WINNER! HOMEGROWN vs BUXTON HALL BARBECUE Homegrown moves on to Round 2!	ELIMINATED 101 Votes 27%

Scroll down to make a comment about your favorite fried chicken in Asheville and WNC. Scroll back up to see the battles in the order they happened. Stay tuned and check back to see the results of the upcoming battles, and see who is crowned champ!

— END —

From left: Chef Jacob Sessoms of Table; Chef William Dissen, The Market Place; Chef Steven Goff, Standard Foods; Chef Katie Button, Curate; Chef Joe Scully, Chestnut and Corner Kitchen; Stu Helm; Chef John Fleer, Rhubarb; Chef Karen Donatelli, Donatelli Bakery; Chef Peter Pollay, Posana Cafe; and Chef Matt Dawes, Bull & Beggar./ Photo by STEWART O’SHIELDS for ASHVEGAS.COM

Stu Helm is an artist, writer, and podcaster living in Asheville, NC, and a frequent diner at local restaurants, cafes, food trucks, and the like. His tastes run from hot dogs and mac ‘n’ cheese, to haute cuisine, and his opinions are based on a lifetime of eating out. He began writing about food strictly to amuse his friends on Facebook.