The latest from Twitter: @BirchwoodCafe is featuring artwork by WACSO (check out his lively contributions to some of our stories), @fultonbeer’s Sweet Child of Vine is only $3 a pint @ZenBoxIzakaya, @RickNelsonStrib wants to know how you tip, and @MNBeerActivists ask about the best beer for breakfast time.
by Aaron Landry on March 31, 2010
We at the Heavy Table have been fans of Foursquare since they launched early last year. For us, it’s great new way to take our Best Bets from our reviews and other food knowledge we’ve collected and make it usable when you’re out and about with your mobile phone. Whether you’re figuring out what we recommended on a menu, trying to find that meat shop we wrote about, or if you just want a random tip from us regarding good food around the corner from where you are right now, this is where Foursquare and the Heavy Table come in.
Starting this week, the Heavy Table now has an official Foursquare page — the first Foursquare page based in the Upper Midwest and one of only a few on the service. We’re proud to join the ranks of ZAGAT, Bon Appétit, and Bravo in taking food and beverage information and making it relevant to wherever you may be.
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@AperitifMN creates Passover-friendly meals, @TheSaltyTart urges you to order Easter treats in the next few days, @DragonflyMpls offers another latte discount, and @TheLyndale shows off their monster of a sandwich, the “Pit Beast.”
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
An office park in New Brighton, Minnesota is probably the last place one might suspect as home to some of the best fried chicken around. But only does Annie’s Deli serve up their own crispy version of this picnic favorite, the company who owns the deli is also responsible for the breading for fried chicken found in many of our favorite grocers around the Twin Cities.
Annie’s Deli is the test kitchen for P.H.T. Systems, a wholesale distributor for food service equipment whose niche is the retail grocer market. Their main line of equipment is the Henny Penny fryers, hot cases, and rotisseries that they sell throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and half of Montana. P.H.T. Systems was founded in 1981 by Jim Rimarcik as a family-owned company comprising himself, his wife, and his daughter Anne, who is the company’s current president (pictured at bottom).
From the beginning, part of the P.H.T. Systems business model was running a test kitchen, which allows their retail clients to come in for demonstrations and training opportunities. In 1986, Rimarcik’s wife Sue suggested that they use the test kitchen to prepare deli food for sale during weekday lunch hours. Soon after, Annie’s Deli was born.
The Annie’s Deli menu consists of a selection of prepared sandwiches, cold salads, and hot food including a daily entree special and soups. Deli items are prepared using the equipment they sell (mainly an oven and fryer), so it’s no surprise that their specialty is their fried chicken and thick-cut, breaded jo-jo potatoes.
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
The Secret is in the Breading
The fried chicken found at Annie’s Deli is crisp-skinned and lacks the signature greasiness found in many other versions. The key to their chicken is using fresh meat and preparing it simply with one coat of breading. After a short resting period to allow the breading to fully adhere to the skin, the chicken is fried in a Henny Penny pressure fryer. Their signature jo-jo potatoes are treated similarly, cut in-house from real Idaho potatoes, coated with breading, and then fried. Biting into Annie’s jo-jo potatoes, you’re met with a toothsome resistance and distinct potato flavor that only fresh ingredients can provide.
The breading used at Annie’s Deli is P.H.T. Systems’ own Red Label breading; varieties of this breading are used in many delis around town. Additionally, P.H.T. Systems provides breading to Lunds / Byerly’s, Kowalski’s, and many other grocer delis, each of whose recipes are proprietary. To make their fried chicken, these grocer delis use P.H.T’s blend of breading, then customize their process by using a dry breading process (similar to Annie’s), a wet dip, or even a double breading process to create an extra crispy finish.
Best Bet: Try Annie’s fried chicken dinners, which include two sides and roll — 2-piece dinner ($6), 3-piece dinner ($6.50), or 4-piece dinner ($7.50).
Annie’s Deli
Rush Lake Business Park
1801 Old Highway 8 NW
New Brighton, MN 55112
651.288.1344
HOURS:
Mon-Fri 11am-1pm
Takeout only
Regular hours may be assumed, but there may be days when the deli is not open for lunch, as the kitchen is being used for P.H.T. Systems grocer customers. Hours and daily specials can be obtained by calling the deli directly.
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
Parmesan roasted asparagus by pickycook, the Sacrifice Burger from King’s Place in Miesville by rabidscottsman, ugly peppers by andy_pucko, a French press by K-SAKI, and a Brussels sprouts and radicchio pasta salad by urbanfoodie33.
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