Finger Lickin’ Good
By B.A. Nilsson

Hattie’s

45 Phila St., Saratoga Springs, 584-4790. Serving daily through the summer 5-10, then Wed-Sun 5-10. Buffet night Tuesday. AE, DC, MC, V

Cuisine: Southern/Cajun

Entrée price range: $13 (red beans and rice) to $19 (marinated flank steak)

Ambiance: cheerfully casual

Several years and one owner previously, Hattie’s Chicken Shack became, simply, Hattie’s, and, befitting its new-found shacklessness, the cuisine became slightly more formalized. This was a good and necessary change, because Hattie’s without Hattie needed a new personality.

Which makes this a good moment to salute Hattie, the marchioness of Phila Street since 1968, a Saratoga fixture beginning 30 years before that. Her reputation was based on a friendly restaurant serving an exceptionally toothsome fried chicken, but she also was a quiet humanitarian, serving the community even as she kept her friends and neighbors well-fed.

Hattie chose Christel MacLean as her successor; MacLean now owns and operates the Circus Café around the corner on Broadway. Beth and Jasper Alexander were her handpicked successors, acquiring Hattie’s in 2001, and the reassuring news is that they have preserved its charm and its menu even as they’ve made creative changes to freshen the restaurant’s appeal.

In sum, it’s still Hattie’s. The gallery of photos and clippings with which Hattie adorned her walls are still on display, but the place has been refurbished with paint and furniture and has expanded out the back into a patio that offers comfortable quasi-outdoor dining. Beth is an eager-to-please hostess, while Jasper wields the skillets, maintaining that excellent fried chicken recipe even as he has enhanced and added other menu items.

In the context of August dining, Hattie’s groans under the weight of the nonstop trade; like a ship burdened up to its gunwales, it still travels, but the journey takes longer and may have its perils.

Fortunately, the worst I can report on a recent pre-SPAC visit was a prolonged wait for my check. Many of my surrounding patio patrons had cleared out at that point, and our server either was diverted into the dining room or standing in the alley, clutching his forehead in relief. It had been one of those murderously hot days.

The core of the menu is a medley of Southern fare, fried chicken the centerpiece. And it really is something you need to experience. My West Virginia-born mom used to make it, and it gave me a reference when Kentucky Fried Chicken hit the scene with its greasy, salty approximation. But this was my mother’s rebellion against the Shake ’N Bake school gaining its foothold in the ’60s; now I wonder how many home cooks have a clue how to make the stuff.

No matter: Hattie’s chicken ($15) sets the bar very high, with its crunch and its well-seasoned finish and—look at that!—no grease! Barbecued spare ribs ($16) are slow-cooked and slathered with a spicy sauce that complements the meat nicely. Side dishes include mashed potatoes, the real thing, made with the red bliss variety; collard greens; cole slaw, and cucumber salad—and you can sample a broad array of these items during the summer at the Tuesday buffet.

At $18, the all-you-can-eat offering is an area bargain. Several chafing dishes line one wall of the dining room, with a nearby bin of fried chicken that’s kept off the heat but is constantly refilled. There, you’ll also get to sample the dark flavor of the cornmeal-coated fried catfish ($16 as a dinner), some good’n’evil chicken wings, salmon, salads, and much more.

Other nights, you have a choice (if you’re early, or lucky) of the main dining room (which is air-conditioned) or the patio; the latter puts you under a festive blue tent, with a bar close enough to promise a quick thirst slake.

Louisiana beer and creative mixed drinks are also hallmarks of the place, and there’s a short but satisfying list of reasonably priced wines.

I enjoyed a bottle of Crimson Voodoo with a dinner under the tent on the aforementioned hot August night, when the gumbo of the day ($18) was a jambalaya cousin that featured chicken and andouille sausage (the jambalaya is a thicker dish that adds shrimp). Gumbo starts with a rich, dark roux, the bulwark of soups and sauces, and is also thickened with okra or filé powder. It has a nutty, mouth-filling flavor accentuated by its heat, achieved both by temperature and pepper seasoning. There’s no question that Jasper does a superb job with the stuff, and I plan to stop back regularly—especially in cold weather—to see what else gets featured in the brew.

I’ve been tasting a lot of jerk chicken breast ($17) at a variety of restaurants; not surprisingly, Hattie’s offers a version that is excellently seasoned and gains even more flavor thanks to the free-range chicken underneath.

Chef Jasper is a Culinary Institute graduate whose real-world experience is even more impressive: He has worked locally at Siro’s and in Manhattan at Aureole, the Gotham Bar and Grill and the Gramercy Tavern. We’re lucky to have him here, and luckier still that this unmatchable legacy of Hattie Austin’s is being kept alive so well.

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