Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Zorn's has been serving home-style meals on Long Island for more than 60 years now. I frequent the East Meadow (1939 Hempstead Turnpike) location whenever I am in town and staying up the road at the Long Island Marriott. This place is simple, yet delicious. I am fond of the fried chicken here, but have never had anything that I would not recommend.

Cafeteria-style is the order of the day. Step up to the counter and place your order. The counter attendants will prepare your plate. Everything is really packed "to go," but they ask if you will be dining in.



The accompanying sides are exceptional and varied. My personal favorites are the stuffing (back/middle) and the mac and cheese (front/right), but friends report that the creamed spinach is also quite good, as are the steamed vegetables.



Reminding people that fried chicken is healthy is important! I don't know if you are really trying to watch your waistline that you REALLY want to eat a lot of fried chicken, but it is nice to know that this stuff is not AS unhealthy as it could be!



This is a pretty standard meal for me -- fried chicken (quarter, white meat) with stuffing and mac and cheese. The chicken is very tasty -- crisp on the outside, moist and flavorful on the inside.



While breast meat can dry out very quickly when improperly prepared, this chicken is nearly perfect.



Usually, the stuffing has more "bits" of meat in it than it did on my most recent visit. Hopefully, this was just a one shot deal and not a permanent change in recipe. The mac and cheese was slathered in a cheddary sauce that requires little else but a dash of salt and pepper to bring out the full flavor. My only other "minus" for Zorn's is that they have eliminated freshly brewed iced tea from their list of available fountain beverages. They do offer Snapple, which I am pretty sure is an absolute must if you serve any kind of food anywhere in New York. I don't drink soda, so the availability of tea is pretty high up on my list of must-haves. For take-away, this is not an issue, though, and even eating in-house, they do have bottled water and bottled teas and fruit beverages.

The Zorn's dining room has the feel of an 1800's country store. Wood is the predominant feel -- the tables and chairs, the counters, the floors, and even the roof structure all go along with the theme. The place bustles at lunch and dinnertime, even though Zorn's clearly specializes in take-away meals. There is also a small outdoor seating area, which is ideal for springtime.



Zorn's is one of my favorite places on Long Island, and a true local treasure. If you haven't been, you should add this place to your "musts" when on the Island. One odd note...while I have always found the staff very professional and polite, it seemed as though my picture taking may have made some of their employees uncomfortable. Is there a spate of fried chicken espionage going on around the East Meadow area? Seemed a little odd - even though I do realize that many people do not photograph their food before eating it!