Fried chicken sliders....with a side of food news

spicy chicken sliders $11

What a perfect way to "slide" into some food news than with some spicy fried chicken sliders from Hardwood Bar & Smokery. Again, I had other stuff I'll review later, but this keeps fried chicken sandwich month going for me. I figured this one would be quick and simple. These were buttermilk brined spice fried chicken pieces on a toasted roll with vinegar slaw and sriracha aioli. Getting straight to the chicken--the crust was crispy burnt and the chicken was dry. No amount or mayo or aioli was going to be able to save it. Which was kind of a shame since the soft buns were toasted and buttered(!) a bit, the sriracha aioli was tasty with a little kick and the slaw was a mix of a touch of mayo and vinegar which I rather liked. Three out of four elements were pleasing but what was supposed to be the main star missed on all accounts. Since it was a slider, at least there was a decent piece of chicken on each, unlike RT Rotisserie! A small consolation though if the chicken isn't worth eating. Together they are barely, almost the size of one sandwich so it kind of falls into the whole "why am I paying more than $10 for JUST a sandwich" thing I have and if you can't even get the chicken part right, the whole thing is a big fail. Doing a decent piece of fried chicken is hard, even on a small scale. I realize this place pushes themselves more as a smokery/bbq meats and beer joint, but if you are gonna put something on the menu, you gotta get it right, right? And no, I'm not sure what was going on with the flag toothpicks, it was neither flag day or July 4th. Try to enjoy the food news instead. 

• Yes, it is Pride week, month, whatever and a number of food joints are offering up Pride inspired food. Oh, joy! Seriously, rainbow colored cheese?! 
• Speaking of, here's a list of where to eat, drink and what not for the parade. And here's another outlets list of boozy, brunch and eats to also check out.  
• Hmmm, does SF really need a "six floor ode to French cuisine?" This chef thinks so, but then again, many chefs think we need a lot of things we don't. 
• Batonnage--a day long forum in Napa on women in the wine industry. Check it out. 
• The Vestry is out and Curio is in. Take a look at the new menu of drinks at The Chapel's new bar. 
• Uber and Lyft took people to these restaurants and bars the most last year in SF. Cheesecake Factory? Really?
• Hollywood Laundromat is a distant memory and now Kantine is officially open to get your smorrebrod on at from morning till night.  
• Seems there is a Refugee Food Festival going on this week in SF too. Um, they did know there was also that Pride stuff going on, right?
• BEANS!! Only in this town could artisanal ones be a food trend. Ugh. 
• Jack London Square--the new hot bed of beer brewing. 
• The "world's 50 best restaurants" list drops this coming week but here's a peak at 51-100, the also rans list, which offers some insights into who moved up, down and disappeared since last year. 
• Tee Off Bar & Grill closed down, even after getting "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" love but looks like a mystery someone is taking on the space. 
• Mini-golf, now a thing in SF. First Urban Putt, then SparkSocialSF planning a course and now Ghirardelli Square beating them to the punch with the opening of Subpar. Have we reached mini-golf peak now?
• Bolin Barbecue, now serving up smoked meats and.....tamales? In the Marina? Well, the pulled pork breakfast biscuit has my attention at least.