Son of a Biscuit

Bring the chicken back! We need some more spiced up goodness in Portland. I love all the sides and the drinks.

Having passed this bright blue restaurant a hundred times, I finally rallied my family and we decided to go in for lunch.
To our dismay, they were closed. But — they had a sign on the door which read «Moving on to greener pastures. Come back for a free meal between 4 – 7 pm». And we did!
Turns out, everyone’s food really was free — because it was their last day of business and they didn’t want any of the food to spoil and be wasted.
The cheesy biscuits are amazing and the fried chicken is fantastic! So was the mac and cheese. I wasn’t a fan of the slaw, but that was only because it wasn’t dripping with mayonnaise. That’s probably a good thing, for dieters.
The chef handed me a hot-​out-​of-​the-​oven chocolate chip cookie, which was amazing! That definitely isn’t for dieter’s!
The staff was super friendly, which was really cool considering they jobs were uncertain. Hopefully they find a new location super soon so they can all get back to doing what they do best; cooking awesome southern comfort food!

Truly the WORST attempt at fried chicken ever. I’ll pay $ 10.50 for a 2 piece chicken but at least be somewhat good. Never have I seen anything so GREASY in my life and enough paprika (?) to stain your fingers. The Cole slaw looked and tasted like someone just cut there lawn and dropped some vinegar in it.
One bite of each and in the garbage it went. Someone didn’t do their homework before they opened this place.

Okay I feel obligated to review this place because of the ridiculously low (3 star?!) rating.
When I first came here it was just okay, I was disappointed as I like Micah Camden’s other spots so much. HOWEVER, I gave it another chance a few months later and have been going back here consistently, much to my waistline’s chagrin.
I will note that I’ve only ever had the spicy chicken, as that is what their specialty is. I also have gotten dark every time, except once which was a mistake on their part. Dark meat is infinitely better than white and if you think otherwise then your review is invalidated: P The spicy chicken is absolutely delicious. How they manage to get such a crispy crust is beyond me. Also by mixing the spicy seasoning with a little hot oil they are able to coat the chicken without making it soggy. I love that the chicken comes on a piece of low-​brow white bread, it absorbs the spicy drippings and is a delicious napkin.
Sides I’ve had are mashed potatoes with gravy and mac and cheese. Both are near perfect. I’ve read several reviews that complain about the mac and cheese. Let me break it down: There are two types of mac and cheese — The kind that has a cheese sauce and the kind that is just melted cheese (s) and macaroni. It seems when someone prefers one variety, any of the other variety is automatically garbage. BOTH TYPES HAVE THEIR MERITS! They have the saucy kind of mac and cheese, and it is so good, creamy and delicious but with a distinctly sharp cheddar flavor. It’s delicious, end of story.
Biscuits are some of the best I’ve ever had, perfect consistency.
The reviewer a few reviews down waxed poetic about how bad the service is which is bizarre to me. I rarely have truly bad service from anywhere, slow yes, but rarely rude (sometimes indifferent though). I have seen some damn rude customers though. It’s a two way street people. If you act like an entitled POS you should be treated like one. Nothing makes me cringe more than people that are rude to those in the service industry. I’ve had nothing but courteous service here. Employees are mostly 20 somethings and generally pretty hipster-​y but have never been anything but courteous and attentive with a good sense of humor. The chicken is made to order and fried chicken takes a while to make — deal with it.
So if you’re on the fence, just go there. Be prepared for a heavy meal, it’s fried chicken after all FFS.

Bloody chicken twice, rude service, the giant glass window/​wall is either sweltering hot or freezing cold.
Reel-​M-​Inn a few blocks away has better chicken, better service, better prices, and a full bar.

An update is appropriate.
There were different employees working who seemed pleasant and did tell me it would take 20 minutes for the chicken because it was made fresh.
I chose to try the white mild chicken meal and the flavor coating was just salty and bland. The cole slaw was just ok.
Again the biscuit was quite good.

It’s time for some real talk.
While the restaurant scene in Portland is awesome in so many ways, there’s one category of food in which I’ve been woefully disappointed. So let me say it here, loud and clear: Son of a Biscuit quite possibly makes the best macaroni and cheese in Portland.
Sure, their name has «biscuit» in their name, and they’re known for their fried chicken, but it’s the mac & cheese that has imprinted on me, and will forever be what I associate with this restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, the whole meal was damn good. But that macaroni… thick noodles cooked perfectly, saucy but not over-​doing it, and just a hint of spice. The mix of cheeses seems a bit more sharp than I’ve found at most Portland spots. I’m a HUGE fan.
A few notes about the other aspects of the restaurant:
* The sandwich is the bomb, with the cole slaw bringing a nice crunch to the meal. You can get it regular or spicy, and from what I gather, spicy is SPICY. Be warned.
* Everything is cooked to order, so even though the place wasn’t all that busy we had to wait 15 minutes for our food. At first I was sort of peeved, but once I tasted how delicious it was, I fully stopped caring. This food is worth the wait.
* I did sample the mashed potatoes and gravy, and they were on point, too! It makes me think they might have the sides game on lock.

Spend a little bit more at Screen Door for a classier and tastier meal. I got a fried chicken sandwich. It only comes in spicy. When I picked it up for the first time, an enormous amount of oil/​hot sauce drizzled out. Appetite decreased significantly. My friend had a side of Mac and cheese and said it tastes like macaroni covered in melted nacho cheese sauce. No fancy sodas/​drinks. Just regular fountain sodas. There is one large table. The rest of the tables are for two person parties. A group of 5 in front of us took the big table and we had to squeeze our 3 person party at a small table.

I love the name of this place and how it looks. But let’s to the food shall we?
I have tried various items but I think my favorite is the 2 piece with dark meat. I like how the crust of the chicken tastes a bit herb-​y and I also like that it’s cooked to order. As some have mentioned it does take a bit of time but to rectify that I just call ahead, and bam it’s ready when I get there, problem solved! I think their mashed potatoes are very tasty and not the instant crap you are served at other chicken establishments. My husband enjoys their spicy chicken sandwitch… like he would maybe marry it, it’s that good! They also serve very delicious biscuits.
I would definitely give this place a try. Overall the food is tasty and fresh and the I find the service to be friendly! :)

I’m not sure why there are such mixed reviews, but I guess everyone likes their fried chicken a certain way. We ordered the chicken sandwich and the 2 piece dark spicy chicken with mac and cheese. I must say their breaking on the chicken is nice and crispy and definitely has a crunch to it! The original chicken didn’t seem too exciting as I saw other people order it. I would recommend the spicy chicken as it had a lot more flavor and spices!
Their biscuits aren’t bad at all! It’s delicious with the honey that they set out on their tables. I would definitely come back again!

I see that people keep giving it bad reviews, so I am assuming this place is a hit or miss.
When I visited a few months back, I was very happy.
The guy at the counter was super cool and friendly, and he made sure to explain everything to us.
I ordered the spicy 2 piece chicken and it was great!
Probably some of the best fried chicken I’ve had in Portland.
If you like spicy chicken, they also have an extra spicy option which is a bit lowkey but very good as well.

Oh boy. There have been some harsh critics for this place so far. Damn people, loosen your belt and get down from that horse before you fall down and hurt yourself.
I like the chicken, been here a few times now. Sometimes I come here on my own and sometimes with other people and have never had an issue. Never seen the guy frying the chicken on his cell phone, but the way I look at it, before that chicken goes in the fryer its full of pathogens, bacteria, and nastiness. Thus, why its fried to a delicious golden color (and 165 degree internal temp).
Some critics ( Unilocalers) mention the wait time – 20 mins. Not bad for fried chicken – Quality, delicious fried chicken takes awhile. I’ve waited up to an hour or more for fried chicken.
I live in the area and when I don’t want to wait an hour for fried chicken I come to Son of a Biscuit. It’s good and so is the Mac and cheese. Some people just don’t know what’s good for ‘em.

The chicken sandwich here is amazing. I have eaten perhaps ten of them in the last two months, since I first walked in the door. Perfect fried crispiness, excellent bun, slaw, and cheese. Their default spicy is a good amount for someone who likes spicy food. The extra spicy made me cry and eat really slowly.
Biscuits: cooked in a muffin pan, dense, greasy, tasty. I like them. Different from Popeyes style, certainly.
Chocolate chip cookies: I very much like them. Damn fine chocolate-​y cookie.
Service is excellent. Turns out expertly fried chicken takes 10 – 15 minutes. Plan on it, and it’s no big deal. I love this place.

I had the extra spicy chicken and it was crazy spicy but fried really well. Will get regular spicy next time but the 5 stars is for the perfect fry/​crisp and delicious biscuits!
Takes awhile to cook but I didn’t mind the wait. Totally empty on Friday at 1pm which is too bad but more space for me to spread out.

After months of driving by, I finally decided to stop at Son of a Biscuit since OregonLive recently put them on their top 10 list of fried chicken places in Portland. Scary. Let’s take each issue and item one by one.
Service: IMHO, top notch. The guy who helped me was nice, friendly, and helpful in making suggestions (not that I necessarily agree with his suggestions, but to each his own).
Chicken: You wait 15 – 20 because the chicken is fried to order. That’s fine. They use top quality chicken, so the high prices are warranted. I actually enjoyed the very crisp crust and the very juicy chicken. I also admit that when it was hot, I thought it was under-​seasoned, but once it cooled off a bit, the salt was sufficient. I truly appreciated the server recommending getting one original and one spicy.
Mac & Cheese: So disappointing. I doubt that the pasta cooking water was salted. It’s really at the level of boxed mac and cheese.
Biscuit: I can’t believe the praise for their biscuits. First, the one I got was more like a dense muffin than a biscuit. Second, it wasn’t remotely flaky. Third, it wasn’t light and fluffy like a proper biscuit, coming out quite dense. Anyone who knows about southern biscuits knows this was sacrilege!
Cookie: definitely a below-​average chocolate chip cookie. Chewy, which I like, but so one-​dimensional in flavor.
Son of a Biscuit has now been relegated to the «Been there, Done that» bin.

We like the approach of this couple to new scaleable restaurant concepts. They keep it simple.
This one is fried chicken and sides.
I had the fried chicken sandwich which is well priced.
The sandwich has a tender boneless piece of chicken surrounded by twice its thickness in a crunchy, salty, cayenne crust. It oversizes a large bun with melted swiss, a few dills, and a cabbage-​carrot slaw with a sourish mayo-​vinegar dressing.
Each table has a fragrant honey and their sourish hot sauce.
No one can quarrel with the thickness and crunchiness of their batter, really the best in Portland I have found for thickness and crunch. It did appear to have some green herb, but could be improved by more herbal flavors. Same with the slaw, great quality, but more flavor notes might be nice. I’ve made the same suggestion to a fancy spot up the street on their fried chicken.
Everything is made to order, and I’m A-​OK with that. They have a selection of canned beers and ciders to pass the time, as well as sweet iced tea and lemonade. Pick up order at counter and self bus.
We wish the best to Son of. We urge them to develop their flavor profiles further, and as they scale, consider varied regional spice profiles.
To SE Portlanders, it’s an A-​OK spot for crunchy chicken! Crunchy without being crunchy!

Son of a Biscuit has been open for a while so they should have worked out all the kinks. But they have not. I was tempted to go with three stars because Son of a Biscuit’s biscuits are truly glorious, made even better by the butter and marionberry jelly.
I ordered the wing/​chicken breast combo that comes with one side (which I chose to be coleslaw). Curiously, in addition to the biscuit, a slice of white bread also comes with the order.
The restaurant wasn’t that busy, but it still took twenty minutes for my order to be prepared. Is that a good thing, because they apparently cook each order? It should be, but I have to tell you this was the poorest chicken I’ve ever had. Take a look at the picture I included with this review. Do you see the salt on my chicken? The chicken, which didn’t have much seasoning otherwise, was overwhelmingly and unpleasantly salty. Um, this is chicken, not a pretzel. Also, the boneless chicken breast had an off-​flavor.
The coleslaw was not very good and I only ate a few bites before crying uncle. It was a mass of squished mostly unidentifiable shredded vegetables coated in something extremely vinegary.
Pollo Loco in Wood Village, I really miss you and your chicken!

We were super excited for this place, drove by many times. We had been driving to Popeyes for the past few months. Waiting and drooling in anticipation for a bone in fried chicken restaurant. We have been to the country cat, and the screen door leaving unhappy with the boneless fried chicken. Call me a purist, I guess. There’s just nothing like fried chicken with a bone in.
What’s a little annoying with this menu, is that it’s pretty restrictive. For instance, if I felt like having fried chicken on my own. I would have to order a half a chicken for myself. Anyway. We were super excited to finally try this place. Thought, there was no way this place was two stars. We ordered the half chicken with potato salad and a couple of biscuits. I felt that the breading was overly on the crunchy side. As in, not delightfully crunchy. But crunchy, in a way, where it was overwhelming. The potato salad sucked fiercely. Harsh words, I know. But I don’t want huge chunks of dry potatoes.
The chicken was moist and flavorful. On a positive scale, the biscuits are delicious. I am not a fan of biscuits, but these were buttery with a hint of honey already in them. Seriously, check out Chicken coop on division. It’s a food cart, and delicious.

After waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting the date was set for grand opening. A friend texted me about the free food giveaway a few days prior. I knew I coudn’t make it right at 2 but once I was free, it worked out for the best. I got a parking spot right away and the line was not crazy long. After I got to the counter, I chose the spicy option and was given a piece of chicken, spicy slaw, bread with ranch topped off, and the BISCUIT!
I took it home immediately and savored the meal. The chicken was extra crunchy yet still was moist when I got to the meat. The slaw has a nice spicy kick that I definitely approved. When it came to the biscuit, it was mmmmmmmmmmmmm good! It was just a tad sweet from the honey and butter infused with the biscuit. I gave a piece to a couple of my nephews and they loved it too. I enjoyed the slight crunch on the outside while it was flaky and soft on the inside. The white bread with ranch on top is a nice touch too.
I caught up with one of my friend’s who I volunteer with occasionally on grand opening. As expected, mostly everything is a la carte. The sides are $ 3 – 5 and only a couple were available to choose when we arrived. We were starving so we each ordered the half bird. It consists of 5 pieces of chicken with 2 slices of Texas bread and pickles. $ 1.50 extra for a biscuit and we anticipated the meal to arrive. The half bird platter is enough to share for 2 people. Regardless, we ate and we ate well. The chicken is consistently extra crunchy and moist on the inside. My friend ordered the mild and I got the spicy order. The mild chicken has a more sweet taste and surprisingly wasn’t bad. The biscuit was still pretty good and consistent too. No ranch was on the bread this time so I wasn’t sure if we had to ask for that.
The service is quick and prompt. Since it was during the day on a mid-​week, getting a table was a cinch. I expect it to be more of a challenge in the evenings and weekends due to the small space. I look forward to trying the drinks they have available and some of the sides they offer. The sandwich is the next item I will try!

If you’re not in the mood for Micah Camden’s sushi, ramen, or burgers & fries, then you now have one more variety of food to try: fried chicken & biscuits!
Trying it last Saturday during their free meal giveway, I was pretty impressed; this stuff puts any other fast-​food fried chicken to shame and is faster than comparable offerings from the likes of Screen Door or Pine State Biscuits:
— The biscuit was fantastic, perhaps the best I’ve had in Portland! Fresh out of the oven, soft, flaky, and buttery on the inside, and with browned top/​sides where the buttered pan crisped the edges, and the maple syrup drizzled on top was just right (avoiding the pitfall of being overly sweet).
— As for the chicken, my spicy drumstick was almost perfect! Meaty, moist, and juicy, flash-​fried once, and then hand-​dipped in spicy sauce and refried again. Yes, as others have mentioned the fried batter/​coating was VERY crispy, but it wasn’t burned, and was a nice contrast to the biscuit & bread. The breast piece was a tad bit on the dry side, but that always seems to be a trade-​off in getting white meat.
Served with a bit of spicy sauce and ranch dressing drizzled on thick white toast, and a couple pickles, I was pretty impressed and would like to go back to try the sides and other pieces of chicken!