“Bang the drumstick slowly,” I ominously said to no one in particular as we entered the atmospheric Drum Room, 4309 N. Western Ave. It was a long-awaited—for me, at least—sampling of the famed Western Ave. chicken outlet, after several hungry attempts when the place was momentary unavailable for my famished needs.
But everything, for once, seemed to come together for this visit. I was on a date with a new friend, and we had made it in time for that magic moment when the sky was a burning red hue, causing the floor of the Drum Room to be covered with a reflective blanket of fiery dusk. I know I say this a lot but, really, it was the perfect moment for fried chicken.
As we sat down in a darkened booth and looked over the slim menus—the Drum Room appears to care about chicken and only chicken, a great selling point for me—we quickly decided on our dinners. As we waited, sipping the cold waters, throwing back and forth various jokes, the sun had finally decided to go down, turning things from red to black.
Our dinner truly began with the Chicken Fried Nachos ($10.00), served with the extra additives of jalapenos ($0.50), sour cream ($0.50) and, because I’m a big spender, guacamole ($1.00). While having to pay for those added accoutrements would normally miff me, here it was easily forgotten because these were some incredibly tasty nachos, mostly thanks to the fried chicken on top.