You've seen their rockstar pink sign and the cow atop their building urging you to eat more chicken. That's right – Lakeland's LoveBird is bringing their good old-fashioned fried chicken to Winter Haven this summer. The couple responsible for turning up the heat on the pick-me-up dining scene is Leah and Jeremy Brumley.
"My first introduction to Nashville hot [chicken] was going to Nashville, seeing shows and music, going to breweries," said Brumley. He tried hot chicken at a brewery food truck and was hooked. Anytime he makes his way to the Music City, he always craves Nashville hot chicken.
There is a hot chicken sandwich on the menu, but LoveBird isn't exclusively a hot chicken joint. "The core of our business is Southern fried chicken," said Brumley. "It's great, Southern fried chicken and great Southern scratch sides. Think about if a barbecue place and a fried chicken shack had a baby – that's kind of what we are."
Former Bonefish colleague turned chef, Chef Rocco Taliani, helped develop the LoveBird menu. "He had a love for food and had a path that took him from that to being a private chef," Brumley said. "When I was doing the concept, I thought it would be fun to get him involved."
The star of the show – delicious fried chicken – is fresh, never frozen, has no added hormones, and is served in quarters. Each chicken gets a little TLC every step along the way to keep it tender and tasty, starting with an up to 24-hour brine. "It's a process where every level of the chicken is seasoned from its raw state with the brine, our flour, and it gets a dry rub when it comes out. It's a premium chicken," said Brumley.
The LoveBird team keeps things traditional with the Nashville hot chicken sandwich, offering escalating heat levels depending on how spicy you feel. The chicken goes through a spicy chili-infused oil followed by a dry rub. A nod to Nashville, the hot chicken is served with white Wonder bread, sweet pickles, two scratch sides, and a sauce if you opt for a plate. For all the flavor and none of the heat, Brumley recommends their Southern-fried Almost Famous Chicken.
Scratch side offerings include slaw, bourbon baked beans, so gouda mac n cheese, jalapeño bacon cream corn, tomato cucumber salad, fries and more. Guests can opt for dirty fries seasoned and topped with cheese sauce, bacon, green onion, and buttermilk ranch. Round out your meal with Southern desserts like fire-roasted apple cobbler and banana pudding.
Now, that LoveBird, finger-licking goodness is coming to Winter Haven. Their Winter Haven location at 199 6th Street NW, previously a filling station, will be just over 2,200 square feet and is expected to open in early August.
Be on the lookout for the Brumleys' next concept in Lakeland, a burger and hotdog concept with a full liquor bar at the former Unfiltered Coffee, previously the Poor Porker.
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