Sexy Sammies: What's old is new again in the fried chicken world
Sexy Sammies fries up air chilled chicken tenders from all-natural producers. The result is tender, juicy chicken hugged tight by crunchy batter. Photo courtesy of Sexy Sammies.
By Emily Kemme
As the owner of eight northern Colorado Wing Shacks and co-owner of Luna’s Tacos & Tequila, restaurateur Brian Seifried used pandemic downtime to putter around the kitchen. In Siefried’s case, that often means brainstorming about chicken. Seifried admits that chicken has treated him well for the past 17 years.
The result of puttering? A new method of serving the world’s favorite comfort food. What began as a ghost kitchen at Wing Shack, with fried chicken sandwiches added to the menu, ended up as its own concept spot — and Sexy Sammies was hatched.
“We wanted to diversify and hit on fried chicken. It’s such a wonderful universal food, and most cultures have their own take on it. Fried chicken is often enjoyed at communal gatherings. It’s perfect for picnics, soccer games and after church. It’s one of those foods that has special memories tied to it,” he said.
Seifried moved away from the northeast-Buffalo style wing he’s perfected at Wing Shack to focus on what makes Southern fried chicken so memorable. Studying different styles, he looked at the technical side — evaluating breading and brines — with an understanding that to present fried chicken at its blue ribbon best it needs deep chicken flavor with a crispy bite. He ended up using a blend of traditional wheat flour, potato flour and tapioca starch — this last a nod to Asian influences on the dish.
The result at Sexy Sammies is crisp breading that holds on tight to plump, juicy tenders. The taste is global, a bit of heat, with a traditional twist. The tenders are hand-breaded daily, and the shop uses a single fry method.
With frying up crispy chicken under control, Seifried next focused on brine, believing, “You can brine to your heart’s content, but you need a core product.”
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He’s relied for years on Smart Chicken outside Lincoln, Nebraska — a producer who contracts with farmers to assure they feed an all-vegetable diet to their free-range chickens. The birds are antibiotic-free and USDA Certified Organic. Humane processing methods include slowly putting the chickens to sleep by increasing CO2 levels, resulting in a non-stressed bird and natural tenderness. Instead of salt-water immersion to chill the meat, Smart Chicken uses air chilling. You get tender meat without water retention.
The Sexy Sam, juicy chicken tenders topped with kale slaw and Sexy Sauce. Photo courtesy of Sexy Sammies.
Back in the kitchen, the culinary magic begins. Seifried salts, peppers, and dry brines the fresh tenders. Look for tenders on Texas toast — again, going for tradition —, crispy fries so good they don’t need ketchup, and a handful of sauces, some brought in from Wing Shack, like the house-made ranch with garlic and habañero to wake you up a bit. And then there’s that Sexy Sauce.
Sexy Sauce isn’t a gimmick, even though the shop’s name gives kudos to Seifried’s girlfriend. The pink-tinged, mayo-based sauce with a hint of dill pickle and horseradish is again an homage to foods of the South.
That’s because fried chicken is an American classic, or as Seifried puts it, “All food tells the story of a community and of who we are. Everything we take a bite of, there’s history. It’s good to remember our fundamental connection to food present and past.”
Fried chicken is thought to have been brought to the Southern colonies in the eighteenth century by Scottish immigrants who had a penchant for frying food. They gave recipes to their African slaves, who in turn added spice, often chili peppers, pulling from traditional West African seasonings.
Because fried chicken tastes best when prepared with tender young birds — think, “Spring Chicken,” — the dish highlights spring and summertime meals. Labor intensive, it was reserved for Sunday supper. First dipped in flour, then fried in a cast iron skillet, fried chicken came to represent the American south.
It’s a portable and picnic friendly food, the sort to share with friends and family, Siefried believes.
The two-handed sandwiches at Sexy Sammies include variations on the classic namesake (with dill pickles), the Lux Sam (American cheese), a Buff Sam (bleu cheese and garlic hot) or the Sexy Sam that’s topped with earthy kale and Brussels sprout slaw. The kale is wilted to perfection with rice vinaigrette, adding balance to the combo. You can also get slaw as a side.
For vegans and vegetarians, order the Veggie Sam, house breaded tempeh locally sourced from Avo’s in Fort Collins. Vegans can order it with unbuttered toast and no cheese.
Ordering is a breeze, which is where the novelty kicks into overdrive. You walk up to a kiosk, tap your order and swipe a card. About fifteen minutes later, you’ve got the best fried chicken in town. It’s not delivered by a waiter — you grab the bag from a cubby and go, either to a lime green-upholstered booth or to your car.
Ordering at Sexy Sammies is an updated version of an automat. Tap what you’d like on a screen, swipe your card, and you’re good to go. Photo courtesy of Sexy Sammies.
The design concept hails from early automats — those places where vending machines dispersed hot soup, turkey sandwiches and coffee cake from a wall lined with cubbies.
Jeff Eyser, a Greeley native who studied theater in high school and film in Denver, fell into the design business. After moving to Los Angeles in 2006, he established the successful production design firm, Flip This Bitch. Full of imaginative, larger-than-life studio sets, Eyser was the natural choice when Seifried was contemplating Luna’s distinctive look. As longtime friends, that project coalesced after a taco-tasting trip to San Francisco.
Eyser said he wanted Sexy Sammies to feel like an updated version of an old diner. “I was trying to take this futuristic look that’s hip now, the curves, lines, colors, and implement a newer art deco feel. Mixed woods give it that farm-to-table vibe without beating it over the head.”
The cute chicken logo reflects fried chicken’s global personality, derived particularly from Korean and Japanese design tendencies toward friendliness, Eyser said. “It’s striking but inviting, the antithesis to Luna’s, which has the sexier dinner feel to it.”
Eyser said it’s fun to give something back to the city he grew up in. He loves leaving his mark on Greeley and hopes his work at Siefried’s restaurants will spur some other design moments around town.
In that, Seifried is of the same mind. He hopes Sexy Sammies will fill the need for a local, high quality chicken shop, one that’s committed to the community while enhancing the city’s character — in the most finger lickin’ way.
Additional details
Non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages available, including beer, seltzers, and liquor store shooters to pair with Stubborn Soda. Try the Passionate Pirate, with a rum shooter, the Mix and Match Sammies shooter, or house-made Sammies’ lemonade and vodka, a southern-style classic.
Desserts feature Walrus Ice Cream, in an ice cream sandwich between two chocolate wafers, or for bites of pure decadence, vanilla ice cream with a fudge core, dipped in chocolate.
Hours
Open everyday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Location
4318 W. 9th Street Road in Greeley