As a human in this world, I find the inundation of food-shaming at this time of year unbearable. I’m not immune to it, and the other night I found myself dining out at Watson’s, fretting over the calories I’d consume by ordering what I really wanted, a Nashville hot chicken sandwich with potato wedges.
I found a compromise that made me feel better, even if in reality the net calories were equivalent: Share an order of fried okra ($7), and get the Nashville hot chicken on top of a salad ($14).
Okra might be a vegetable I am basically only interested in eating when fried, but it’s a vegetable all the same. The bounty salad is made of lacinato kale, roasted zucchini, onion, slow roasted tomatoes, and sunflower seeds — all excellent sources of vitamins and fiber. The Nashville hot fried chicken is my favorite, and it rounds out the salad to make it it a meal.
I’ve also had the Nashville hot chicken on the house salad ($13, picture at top), and it’s equally delicious.
Watson’s
211 N Neil St
Champaign
T-Th 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
F + Sa 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Su 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (kitchen closed 2-4 p.m.)
