A broast fan

If you’re already a fan of fried food — and millions of Americans are — you’ll agree it’s tough to improve upon it. That aroma of bubbling oil, the sound of the crispy exterior snapping open to reveal a juicy interior of white meat, fresh fish or a bite of potato? How could anyone make it better?

And yet THE CHICKEN BASKET in Coeur d’Alene is attempting to do just that — improving this fundamental foodstuff by broaching the subject of broasting instead of frying. Their “fried” chicken, fish and other finger foods are, they claim, lower in fat than traditional frying, according to owners Darron and Jill Cole.

“Genuine Broasted® chicken,” their menu notes, “... is carefully marinated and coated with specially formulated Broaster® ingredients.” The aforementioned cooking device is actually a patented combination of pressure cooking and frying for foods that have been first marinated then breaded. Although the process is similar to that used at chain restaurants (such as KFC), only locations that have purchased the licensed Broaster® can actually claim to serve this broasted food.

As the Chicken Basket menu explains, the Broaster cooks “each individual piece of chicken ‘under pressure’ in the chicken’s own natural juices, limiting the absorption of cooking oil and driving the marinade deep down to the bone while searing the chicken with a golden crispy-crunchy coating.”

“Not too greasy,” agreed my partner who, like so many of us in our youth, worked at a fast-food chain (namely KFC).

Also on the menu: gizzards ($5-$8), chicken or fish kids meal ($4-$6), and chicken strips ($7).

The place is casual, as expected, with a quirky hot-rod/chicken-art theme and ‘50s music in the background.

While we weren’t expecting the 15-plus minutes it took for our order of fish and chips ($9) or breast and wing (which includes fries, slaw and a roll for $8.50), broasting actually takes less time than frying, and all orders are cooked fresh.

We could have placed the order to go using a menu that offers buckets from 10 pieces ($29) to 200 pieces ($355), which begs the question: Who would order that much chicken? A really big, big fan of fried food, I guess. — CARRIE SCOZZARO

Chicken Basket, 601 Northwest Blvd., Coeur d’Alene, is open Sun-Thu 11 am-8:30 pm, and Fri-Sat 11 am-9 pm. Visit chickenbasketcda.com or call (208) 665-7407.