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northbrooktower.com DINING OUT
the northbrook tower | June 21, 2018 | 37
Clucker’s Chicken idea hatched in Mexico
Michael Wojtychiw
Contributing Sports Editor
Clucker’s mild chicken wings (10 for $8.79) come with
celery and homemade ranch dressing.
Every restaurateur has
his or her own inspiration.
For Reed Merdinger,
founder of Clucker’s Charcoal
Chicken, it was a trip
to Mexico.
“In Mexico City, I saw
this concept that was unbelievable,”
Merdinger
said. “It was a restaurant
with chickens on these
open grills with charcoal.
There’s a guy standing behind
there with a cleaver,
standing behind the grill
and just cutting them up,
into a line where people
could get them.
“I came back to Chicago,
I was then working for
Don Roth, and said to Don
Roth, ‘I got an idea to open
up a chicken restaurant.’
He said, ‘I’m 80 years
old and I’m not looking
to open a new restaurant.’
So, my wife and I went
around, I found the equipment,
and in 1985, we
opened the first Clucker’s
on Clark Street.”
After opening in Chicago
and operating for
nearly 13 years, the couple
became tired of managing
their own day-to-day
business and Merdinger
went to work for Levy
Restaurants, running all of
the company’s restaurants
throughout the country.
After 13 years of working
with Levy, he suffered
an injury that left him paralyzed
in a wheelchair. According
to Merdinger, in
1998, he went to sleep one
night and woke up paralyzed.
He decided to work
on his health and moved
to Florida to work at The
Miami Project, a hospital
that focuses on spinal cord
research. He came back in
a walker.
Fast forward five years,
Merdinger made this return
to the restaurant
business. He looked for a
space, and in 2008, Clucker’s
in Highwood opened.
“It was amazing how
many people remembered
Clucker’s from when it
originally opened,” he
said.
An amazing fact about
the menu is it’s essentially
the same as it was when
the restaurant originally
opened in 1985. And, all
of the food is made from
scratch.
“There’s a Jewish and
Mexican flavor here,” the
owner said. “The Jewish
influence is partly in the
chicken noodle soup. The
brick chicken has a bit of
the Mexican flavor to it,
with a little bit of lemon
to it. Our enchiladas are
that way, our tacos are that
way, our salsas are that
way.
“I picked the food I
liked to eat.”
When 22nd Century
Media editors visited the
restaurant, across the street
from Fort Sheridan, they
were treated to large portions
of many of the more
popular items on the menu.
We started with the 2350
salad ($10.99), named after
the original restaurant’s
address on Clark Street in
Chicago.
The 2350 salad, one of
Clucker’s Charcoal
Chicken
760 Sheridan Road,
Highwood
(847) 432-2582
11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Monday-Saturday
11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday
the numerous gluten-free
menu options, featured
grilled chicken, bacon,
tomato, chopped egg,
avocado, scallions, Swiss
cheese, mixed greens and
the restaurant’s famous
sweet poppy seed dressing.
One of the more popular
dishes is the wings.
According to Merdinger,
on Super Bowl Sunday,
Clucker’s sold more than
7,500.
We received 10 wings
($8.79) dipped in mild
sauce and served with
celery sticks and homemade
ranch dressing.
Wings are also sold in
orders of 20 ($16.99), 30
($24.99), 50 ($39.99) and
100 ($79.799). Additional
sauces include barbecue,
plain, hot or The Coop’s
on Fire sauce.
A third item we had was
the Cajun crispy chicken
sandwich ($9.99), one of
the few , if not the, fried
items on the menu. The
sandwich is a pan-fried
Cajun chicken breast
The half Clucker ($10.29) comes with rotisserie chicken and a choice of sides at
Clucker’s Charcoal Chicken. Photos by Kelly Page/22nd Century Media
The chicken enchiladas ($10.99) are stuffed with rotisserie chicken and topped with
cheese, avocado and salsa verde.
with remoulade sauce and
topped with your choice of
cheese.
The sandwich offered
a perfect blend of cheese
and chicken, with neither
item overpowering the
other. We also had the fries
as our side. The fries were
crispy, but not overdone.
The chicken enchiladas
($10.99) ended up being
one of our favorite dishes.
Packed with flavor, the
dish had three corn tortillas
stuffed with rotisserie
chicken, topped with
cheese, avocado and salsa
verde. The dish is also
served with red beans and
rice.
Last, we had the half
Clucker rotisserie chicken
($10.29) with potatoes
and corn bread. The bird
is marinated in a vibrant
blend of natural fruit juices
and zesty herbs, then slowly
cooked to golden-brown
perfection over live charcoal
fire. All birds come
with coleslaw, tortillas,
Bathe Your Bird sauce and
a side. Along with the half
Clucker, a quarter Clucker
and half brick are also
available.
The restaurant, currently
located at 760 Sheridan
Road in Highwood, will be
relocating to 405 Sheridan
Road sometime in July.