Fried chicken: More than just picnic food

You can stick with your bucket of KFC, but there are local joints whipping up delicious fried chicken, too. Salty, juicy, crunchy chicken is as American as apple pie, and everyone does it differently. Here are three spots to start your own fried chicken crawl (we - and your doctor - suggest you space this out a bit).

Something Good, 1610 Sixth Ave.
Fried chicken is soul food. Comfort food. It takes a special kind of care to do it well, and owner Millie Carr takes that care. Maybe it's her 20-plus years working as a nurse (she splits her time between Iowa Home Care and her restaurant). Maybe it's her Arkansas roots. Either way, her special blend of paprika, garlic, onion and salts makes one heck of a seasoning for her chicken. It's deep-fried at 375-400 degrees, and Carr said the key is keeping an eye on it. "You can't just walk away. I deep-fry it until it's 160 degrees internally, so it's moist and tender," she said.

The result is perfectly crisp, very juicy chicken. You can pick your own sides (the dinner comes with two). On my visit, I chose fried okra and had Carr recommend a second. "You can't eat fried chicken without turnip greens and corn bread," she said.

Cost: $9 for a fried chicken dinner

Q, 1250 Eighth St., West Des Moines
"We spent weeks trying different products and spices to get the flavor just right," Eric Stimson said. "The challenge was getting a fried chicken that satisfied the owners' tastes but didn't go over the top." Stimson, The Q's general manager, said the restaurant uses Midwest, corn-fed chickens from the Iowa/Minnesota border, then pressure-cooks them to seal in the natural moisture. The result of this process is a much juicer piece of chicken.

The breading here is - you guessed it - slightly spicier than usual, and thicker, making it very crispy. You can order the mild version also, which was equally delicious and still flavorful. Dinners come with a choice of two sides and a jalapeno corn bread muffin.

Cost: $7.95 for spicy fried chicken dinner.

High Life Lounge, 200 S.W. Second St.
High Life serves up a whole menu full of down-home classics, like roast beef and pot pies, so fried chicken seems like a more than appropriate fit. Order any combination of thigh, breast, wing and drumstick you want, then pick two sides. The chicken is broasted (pressure-fried), making it extremely juicy and crispy, and the pieces are large and plump.

Cost: $8.95 for broasted chicken dinner