ma'ono fried chicken & whisky

the seattle restaurant week was coming to an end and we wanted to go somewhere before it ended. i just couldn’t wait for fall for the next edition. i picked ma’ono fried chicken and whiskey because it was the only place with an earlier reservation available. all others we wanted to go to were after 8.00 and we know that lil v won’t be the most cooperative table companion at that time. i will have to say that the experience was meh at best. i ordered off the srwmenuand aj had the ma’ono saimin – a pork broth with noodles, fishcake etc. he seemed to enjoy it a little. i had the hearts of palm salad as the appetizer, which was honestly the only thing onmenuthat i liked. it was sort of very refreshing and sweet and earthy all at the same time! i did not care much for the stuffed tofu. the dessert was good but it was a whole lot of it and we did not even get to finishing half of it. we also got their famous fried chicken to-go. aj had it for lunch the next day and though he liked it, he

fried chicken (regular & korean style) bone marrow wood grilled kalbi short ribs curry bacon fried rice brown butter mochi cake pumpkin shake ma’ono fried chicken & whisky (formally springhill)  can’t express how much i love fried chicken. ma’ono is one of my go to friend chicken spots in seattle and along with popeyes (don’t hate). ma’ono originated from the springhill monday pop up and then chef mark fuller converting to fried chicken and progressive hawaiian/asian inspired food full time.  ma’ono serves their fried chicken three way and your choice of two - regular, korean (spicy), and chinese (sweet mild mustard). all of them are definitely cracking so i recommend going with original and asking for the other two sauces on the side (sampler style). the other dishes that also hit home were the woodfired kalbi short ribs, clams, bone morrow, and curry bacon fried rice. i have yet to make my way through the wholemenubut i plan to. also, the burger gets a lot of attention as one of th

great service, above average food. family ate here early on a saturday evening. we had read that you must pre-order/reserve a whole fried chicken if you want thatmenuitem, and we had done that. also ordered the ma'ono dog for our son and a caesar salad. service was excellent and caring. salad and dog came quickly. dog was quite excellent, a portuguese sausage concotion, nicely seasoned. their take of caesar was novel, too, with a nice zip to it. we waited quite awhile for the reserved chicken, but when it arrived at the table it was still sizzling from the fry. this is very heavily crusted chicken, not especially my favorite. darkdark fry, almost blackened. for me, the overdone crust had no unique flavor notes, probably because it had been overdone. the cook oil was definitely fresh, but the heavy crust held in too much oil---an oily finger affair to be sure. the dips for the chicken were a marvelous rescue, though, one hot chili and the other a wasabi style mustard. the chicken was served with a side of kimchi which was quite authentic. my spouse is korean, and she is a good judge, too. for dessert, we all had the brown butter mochi cake with fresh pineapple and tapioca. it was the best part of the meal. the chicken was a bit of a disappointment, seeing as how it's their signature dish. i should note that the dark, dark brown fry is the standard... i saw at least 6 or more platters going by to other diners and they all looked the same. ma'ono also has an extensive, impressive whiskey list but we did not try on this visit.

i had been awhile since we'd done brunch.  luckily, seattle is filled to the brim with brunch options.  it was a rainy saturday and we were feeling a little bored and house bound.  so it seemed like a good time to eat out and grab some brunch from a restaurant we've never been to.  sometimes just experiencing a new place, like a restaurant, can help you beat the winter blues by mixing up your routine a little.  we decided on ma'ono in west seattle because theirmenulooked good and there were several dishes we wanted to try.  it was a packed house when we arrived and i didn't think to make a reservation.  good thing for us several tables were getting up so we only had to wait fifteen minutes.  our children were acting up and continued to the whole meal.  the servers were gracious though and nobody seemed too upset by their behavior.

themenunow includes fried chicken ($20 for half, pictured here, or $39 whole) served daily. it comes with kimchi and rice, and sweet chile sauce for dipping. the chicken has a slightly thick crust with juicy, flavorful meat inside; the staff tells me the secret is in their technique, which involves brining, soaking, multiple dredgings, and double-frying.

dense crispy take on southern classic. i lucked out an stopped in for a take-out order on sunday evening before things got busy and enjoyed a beer at the bar. parking won't be the easiest, but expect prompt service and attention to detail. - -

i came here after seeing ma'ono listed on a top 10 places for fried chicken around the us and having spent my fair share of time around the southeast, i have to agree with the assessment. moist meat is under a dense and crispy breading, which is appropriately served with two sauces on the side, one with some solid heat. i went with some sweet potato fries enjoyed every bite, all before passing out into a food coma. - -

the rest of themenulooked appetizing and this is certainly a place to see and be seen. not all that large, expect to make a reservation.

if you enjoyed spring hill's fried chicken you'll be happy to know that the recipe is still the same however they use soybean oil now instead of peanut oil. while checking out their dinnermenu, i discovered they also offer a gluten free version of the fried chicken that i really want to try some time. they use bob's red mill gf flour for the batter and have a separate fryer so there is no cross contamination of gluten. they ask that you call 24 hours in advance if you want the gluten free chicken so they can have it prepped and ready for you. mark and i attended a photostroll in west seat

did i like it or like the idea of it?. i liked this restaurant. had a good solid breakfast. wouldn't object to eating here again and you can't beat the bottomless mimosa at brunch. i guess for a place with the words "fried chicken" in the name, i expected better fried chicken. my friend's chicken nuggets with sausage gravy was somewhat disappointing. i make better sausage gravy. i guess i like the idea of this place and there are other things on themenui want to try so that's why i say i like the idea of this place. i'll try it again and write another review.