Spring Chicken, 1514 South Dixie Highway, is one of the newer entrants in the hot fast casual restaurant category. The Coral Gables eatery is the first of four to open this year. Other locations on the way include Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale (opening in June) and Miami International Airport. John Kunkel, the owner of 50 Eggs, who also owns Yardbird Southern Table & Bar on South Beach, is betting on the appeal of the Yardbird fried chicken as the cornerstone of the Spring Chicken Miami concept. The now famous fried chicken made the restaurant a James Beard Foundation Semi-finalist for “Best New Restaurant,” and a Bon Appétit “Top 50 Best New Restaurant in the U.S. And wait until you try the country club sandwich with sugar cane lemonade.

And of course there are their famed biscuits, made with cubes of butter, 13 layers in all, and baked fresh daily (they sell as many as 400 a day). They come with a choice of jams and butters. Chicken is the exclusive protein here, except for additions of bacon in some dishes (50 Eggs also owns Swine). You can have it in pieces, tenders, sandwiches, and salads. There are grilled options too – in a cobb salad and sandwich selections. And speaking of salads, one I’d like to try next time is the super food kale with aged cheddar cheese, green apples, cranberries, toasted pecans, biscuit croutons and cider vinaigrette.

As chefs always say, it always starts with the quality of the product. All chickens here are free range, hormone free. The fried chicken, crispy with a welcome just right spiciness, is moist and tender thanks to a 27 hour brining and a pressure fryer. Most popular is the blue plate special – two pieces of fried chicken with the bone, dark or white meat, tasty French fries and minted watermelon, a perfect counterpoint.

One of my other favorite items is the country club sandwich (pictured above), a healthy chunk of fried (or grilled) chicken with swiss cheese, pepper bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and buttermilk ranch all served on a toasted potato bun. Team it up with their sugar cane lemonade which is so good I told them they should bottle it and sell it to take home.

If you’re going all out in the calorie department, opt for one of the cupcakes with a serious amount of buttercream on top. There’s also a selection of layer cakes which come from Buttercream Cupcakes nearby. Spring Chicken has a variety of beverages ranging from sodas and beer to shakes, floats, wine on tap and hard root beer. There’s also a menu section for family meals – buckets of bird, jumbo tenders, biscuits and Yardbird sandwiches (chicken thigh, house pickles, southern sauce served on a toasted potato bun).

Blue plate specials range from $7.95 to $10.95; sandwiches amd salads are all under $7. Optional sides besides fries are mac & cheese, potato salad, potlicker greens, and others for under $4 for small and under $8 for large. There’s also a special menu for “lil ones” at $4.25. There were a number of families when we went which were enjoying the long communal table.

Spring Chicken offers solid quality, tasty dishes and good value. I foresee many more to come.