Night of the Yelping Dead Elite Event @ Griff’s Chicken Shack

A Frightastic Good Time! Thanks to Emily C. et al. the event was spooktacular (my bad on the Halloween references, I can’t help myself… tis the season… bwahahaha).
Highlights:
1. Bangin’ chicken! Griff’s straight puts their foot in some chicken (which reminds me to write a review on their awesomeness). All white meat, moist inside, crispy outside, seasoned to perfection … delicioso! I’m a girl about variety, so experimenting with the dipping sauces kept me engaged after the initial chicken euphoria wore off (all time fav, Sesame Ginger). To top it off, the jambalaya was nice n spicy; not the «I’m a wuss and can’t handle the heat in this dish» spicy, but the «someone actually took the time to properly flavor this dish» spicy.
2. Alcohol? Why thank you, don’t mind if I do. My dear friend from Crispin Cider kept the bottles poppin’. I recently discovered the joys of cider and I’m delighted to have been able to wash down my chicken with this sweet nectar of the gods. While both flavors (apple and pear) were in the ballpark of exceptional, I would lean more toward the apple flavor because it was slightly sweeter, which I happen to prefer (darn sweet tooth).
3. Big ups to the bad-​ass makeup artist, Jesse Hermanson of Jhermbaby Productions. While I didn’t get my face done up, I had a presidential debate soirée to attend afterwards (not the impression I wanted to make), but I def had a case of zombie envy. Girl’s got made skills! Fake blood, glitter, face putty wounds, she really captured the spirit of Halloween. Extra points awarded for making each zombie look completely unique, it takes imagination to makeup that many looks.
My second Elite event (the first was the Red and Black Ball) was certainly a success, cheers to round three.

As a newly minted Elite this was my first event and I was both nervous and excited to attend. Finally getting a chance to meet some of the people whose reviews I have been loving as well as try Griff’s Chicken Shack sounded like a win-​win to me. I took my +1 with me as my driver and official co-​taster.
First off I had read a many of the reviews of Griff’s Chicken Shack and was determined not to make the same mistake and drive right past it — but I was not driving :) so being a poor co-​pilot we missed the location after a couple of turn arounds finally made it inside.
We were warmly greeted and headed to grab a Crispin Cider before checking out the rest of the event. Angela Deon, the local Connecticut and Rhode Island Representative, was offering samples of both their pear and apple cider varieties. Mark and I got one of each. Each variety was light clean and refreshing. I personally loved the Pear variety which was a bit more aley and was told that the difference between their cider and those such as Woodchuck (which I love) is that the first ingredient of their Pear Cider is… wait for it… pear…ingenious. It is not widely distributed in the Connecticut market yet but she did say that it is sold at Prime16 (giving us another reason to come back to New Haven). She was very pleasant and my +1 had a enjoyable conversation with her.
Unfortunately we arrived on the later side and did not get a chance to try the buffalo chicken dip. However, the remainder of the food made up for it. As the owner told us he has only been open for 3 years and if you do something — do it well. Griff’s Chicken Shack definitely holds that mantra up to a high caliber. The chicken tenders were tender and melted in my mouth. The chicken they use is truly are fresh and not caked in batter like many of us remember from the high school cafeteria. I also loved variety of dipping sauces — from Asian to BBQ they had every sauce category covered.
My personal favorites were the Sesame Ginger and the creamy but not heavy Blue Suede Cheese. My husband was a fan of Doc’s Key Lime which he found surprisingly light with just the right amount of lime at the end of each bite. We went back for seconds where we attempted to come up with our own flavor combinations. We also tried the rice and beans but were not a fan — not that they were not good but again I think because we scrapped the bottom of the container. I
I did not get Zombified but enjoyed watching those that did. The make up artist and caricaturist helped keep the spooky vibe of the event It was my first event and was not sure what to expect as it appeared that many of those in attendance knew each other and were deeply involved. However I was able to meet some very nice individuals from both the Hartford and New Haven area. Specifically Todd D and Nova G with whom I hope to meet for a Mac and Cheese date (and some infused vodka) in the near future
I loved finally being able to meet Emily C who was warm and welcoming as she moved effortlessly throughout the myriad of Hartford and New Haven Unilocalers. Thanks to her for another great event!
Also thank you to the staff of Griff’s Chicken Shack for opening up the restaurant after hours. I now know where you are located and will be sure to stop by in the future to each your full size chicken tenders as well as some of your other items (mac and cheese and pulled pork specifically).

Had a blast last night! Not only was this Unilocal event hosted at my favorite Chicken place on the face of this planet but it was zombie themed! I don’t think it gets much better than that.
Originally, I was not excited for the Crispin cider but I was really enjoying the Pear cider.
Griff as always delivered with the chicken, I am kind of a Doc’s die hard so I got to try other sauces and found out how good it is to mix them together. Don’t ask me what I mixed together, but it was damn good. Griff recommended that I do the Island BBQ with my Doc’s Key West, I think I will be doing that from now on. The one thing I did miss was the french fries, but I probably would have ate way too many so maybe that was a good thing. I also tried Griff’s jambalaya for the first time and even though I pretty much do not like the ingredients that make up jambalaya I really enjoyed it. Go figure!
Got a caricature done by Kerry who was awesome! I should’ve gotten it «zombie-​fied» though!
Then I did my make up. Jesse first asked me what I wanted and I told her walking dead inspired, then she asked me if I wanted to be more beat up or a rotting corpse and of course I said rotting corpse. Finally she asked if I was allergic to latex and then she just «tore-​up» my face. She gave me a wickedly cool makeup job (see pic). I went next door to Mikro after and got the weirdest looks but I was so happy I didn’t care.
I had to keep myself from going out and randomly scaring people on the street, too scared that someone would try to bash my brains in… but the make-​up seriously looked that good. WIth the right costume, I could have passed for a walking dead zombie. Thank you Emily for having a New Haven area Unilocal event!

I know when people think of Unilocal events they think BIG. Let me set the record straight, you don’t need a BIG space to have an AWESOME event. Griff’s Chicken Shack graciously hosted provided us with chicken nuggets with EIGHT of their sauces out of the FIFTEEN they have listed which included:
Sweet Thang (would have gone really well on a pork slider as well)
Bobcat BBQ (steak fans this is your sauce)
TNT Buffalo (I’ve had hotter sauces but I like the overall Tabasco-​like bite)
Hickory BBQ (PUT THIS ON RIBS! WOOT!)
Carolina Mustard (better as a salad dressing)
Doc’s Key West (get yourself a bag of Tostitos with a hint of lime and you got yourself a KICK-​BEHIND combo; It also serves better as a salad dressing)
Island BBQ (the molasses-​like flavor really gives off a subtle aftertaste which I really like and DEFINITELY use on wings)
Hot BBQ (self-​explanatory but I’ve had spicier BBQ sauce than this as well)
The chicken nuggets was pretty damn good. It had a very noticeable peppery first bite that smooths out. You rarely find that in chicken nuggets (reference Mcdonald’s). There were also Andouille Jambalaya, rice and red beans to further feed our bellies. I really like how the Andouille Jambalaya wasn’t overpowering. I tried it with the Bobcat BBQ… OMFG…it really accented the flavor in the sausage. As for sweets, there were also brownies which were rather soft AND moist which I like since I am accustomed to the stiff/​hard brownie back home in NY (reference Cold Stone). They even had zombie movies playing as the event was going on which really added to the ambiance.
Crispin Cider provided Unilocalers with their AWESOME Pear Cider which I’ve met at another event in Queens (Reference Unilocal SUMMER STUNNER!) GET YOUR BOOTY SOME OF THIS BAD BOY CIDER. No SERIOUSLY you really need to! The Apple Cider as described as having a less than favorable aftertaste by a fellow Unilocaler. I would have to agree. If that was toned down a tad that Apple Cider would be «off the chains» as they say in the hip world? **ADD slow shrug with tilted head motion**
After the food, the drinks, and the sweets I really have to list my FAVORITE part of the night. THE ZOMBIE MAKE-​UNDER!!! WOOOOO! IF you can’t tell by my AWESOME profile pic, the folks from RAW Hartford (Jesse and his team) provided Unilocalers with the Zombie-​fication process. There was also a zombie caricaturist on site that was really quite talented. She does zombie and regular life-​like caricaturing. I didn’t get a chance to partake in her services BUT judging by her work on other subjects, 2 THUMBS UP.
Last but not least, shouts and thanks to Emily C. + the folks at Unilocal for organizing such a KICK-​PATOOEY JOB! The event was intimate but boy was it FUN!

Mmmm… brains and fried chicken with dipping sauces…
For some reason I haven’t ever actually made it to Griff’s Chicken Shack before, despite its proximity to me. Maybe it’s my vanity in avoiding fried chicken, but holy crap have I been missing out. Any time you put me into a room with that many different dipping sauces and meat, it’s all going to end in deliciousness and probably some gentle sobbing. Don’t ask.
Overall it was another lovely evening with my fellow Unilocalers (and their peasant +1’s). I thoroughly enjoyed the zombie theme, though some poor decision-​making on Sunday evening may have cause my energy levels to flag slightly.
Griff’s provided some delectable treats for us. The fried chicken itself was totally ballin’ and the dipping sauces were a great opportunity to sample a bunch of different flavors all at once. And holy hell that jambalaya was not messing around. For a second there I thought I was legit in the South.
The buffalo chicken dip was also quite good and they offered a plentiful amount of tortilla chips… my Achilles Heel if you will. Bastards.
I’m not a huge cider guy but I really enjoyed both the Pear and Apple ciders. Plus, since I can’t drink more than 3 without seriously regretting it, I was able to avoid verbally harassing everybody for once. I’m sure you’re all appreciative. Though I truly enjoy this new, drink ticket-​less world I live in. A true wonder.
I will say, after the zombie pub crawl in Hartford last weekend, my desire to get all painted up for less than two hours was not that high. It was probably just a combination of exhaustion and it being Monday and all. Luckily most everybody else was into it so Emily didn’t have to chastise me. In public, anyway.
So while the space was a little cramped and awkward for socializing with new people, plus the areas needed for charicatures, ultimately I had a good time with friends, ate some delicious food, and watched some of the most awesomely terrible zombie-​themed movies ever produced on film.
A little fun fact about history: Abe Lincoln does not fuck around with the undead.

This was a great event! First of all, I love Griff’s Chicken Shack! (Don’t believe me, ask Scott who started the Man Vs Bird wall!)! I work really close by and I definitely enjoy stopping in for lunch. There were a plethora of sauces available (the Carolina mustard is a must try along with doc’s key west!), a cool spooky ambiance, some scary movies playing and of course, the ever talented artists who were applying makeup and effects and drawing caricatures!
Crispin cider was available for sampling and it was great to see some new and familiar faces!
Thanks to Emily and to Griff’s staff for setting up a great event!

I’m going to be honest with you all, I have been in this plaza many times and this was the first time I’ve been to Griff’s. After this event, I will totally make it a point to stop by when I’m in the area.
As for the event — who wouldn’t have loved it?!
Zombie make up and caricaturist, spooky décor, spidy bites and brownies, and of course some yummy crunchy chicken tenders and numerous dipping sauces, and refreshing apple and pear ciders… (didn’t get to try the jambalaya or dip BOO!).
My plus one and I had to scoot early but we were glad that we went. BTW I think my hubby can do the Griff’s challenge…