Howard County 'Bucket List' – Chick N' Friends

Fried chicken is a staple of classic American cuisine, and a local couple has been perfecting its homestyle goodness in Columbia for years.

at the Long Reach Shopping Center boasts a menu of fried chicken, fish, greens, yams, corn muffins and more. With made-to-order items, this chicken joint is a must for chicken lovers and regular picnic-goers.

Rhodney Lloyd,who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Cassandra, said what sets his business apart from the fast food establishments like KFC and Popeye's is the freshness of the chicken and the quality of the ingredients, which guarantee a "homestyle" taste.

"We don't batch cook [dozens] of pieces and have it sitting under the lamps," Lloyd told Patch. "We're trying to do homestyle cooking, which means we keep it as fresh as possible."

The chicken is breaded and pressure cooked, which allows the chicken to be cooked from the inside out, rather than crisping the outside first as in deep open frying. Lloyd says this process keeps the chicken moist and prevents the drying caused by heat lamps at major fast food restaurants.

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The Howard County Bucket List is a new project, and we’d like your help compiling stories about things you must do if you are living in, visiting, or just about to move away from Howard County.

We figured this was timely since Howard County has recently been tooting its horn as a good tourism destination.

Each Monday, we’ll publish a video profile of one of the places on the Howard County bucket list. You can find all of our "Bucket List" content here.

Please post below what items you think should be on any Howard County Bucket List. If you are out, and find something in a little-known corner of Howard County, snap a picture, send it to me (brian.hooks@patch.com) or tweet about it under the hashtag #Hocobucketlist.

What's your favorite attraction? Post any and all suggestions below.