VFW post's chicken dinners uphold tasty tradition

Aug. 27, 2006

We had lived in Eau Claire for seven years but never tried charcoal chicken at VFW Post 305.

When we called for details, we were told: "Get here at 5 o'clock or just after. That chicken goes fast!"

At 4:59 p.m., parking lots were filling. Kitchen and serving crews were bustling. People were lining up for tickets and takeout orders.

All the early signs were promising.

But it was the chicken that clinched it. Jeff took an exploratory nibble of a chicken leg, just a nip of grill-charred, savory skin with a morsel of meat. As he was chewing — and admittedly making anniversary eyes at Audrey (it was our 20th) — the rest of the leg meat slid right off the bone.

Experience counts. Post 305 has been staging charcoal chicken feeds since 1984. Three of the current five-man grill team — Bill Brinkman, Bernie Wendt and Frank Mezera, the master seasoner who also hand-mixes the post's secret salt-and-spice rub — have been charcoaling chicken here for all 22 years.

Equipment counts too. The VFW's impressive grills were designed and built by former post commanders Duttee Holmes and the late Jack Schulner. They're basically big oil tanks with heat-reflecting stainless-steel bottoms. And they have huge, flat, rotating baskets that hold hundreds of chicken pieces in a single layer and turn over with an easy twist of the hand.

The chicken cooks nearly 3 feet above the coals for two to three hours, depending on the wind; the baskets are flipped every few minutes. After grilling, the chicken is held over water in electric roasters. The steam softens the crisped skin, alas, but also helps to keep the meat moist until it's placed in the proper slot on your cafeteria tray.

For $7.50, you choose either a chicken breast with wing or a leg-thigh combo. We recommend the leg and thigh for succulence and deeper flavor.

Jeff's first leg had near-caramelized, beautifully salty skin fused to a layer of wonderfully chewy meat around a moist, tender center. The wings are also tasty, arguably the best part of this chicken, but the long cooking and holding process sometimes can make the breasts dry. For $3 extra, you can try both.

Accompaniments are a ladleful of Bush Brothers' beans, soft and brown sugar-saucy; a large foil-clad baked potato slit open to order in a puff of steam (sour cream is available for the asking); and a honey-sweetened dinner roll.

The standout side dish is former post commander Dick Qualheim's coleslaw. Super-finely chopped chilled cabbage and carrot gain surprising zing from green pepper tidbits. Lightly dressed with vinegar, sugar, water and celery seed, this slaw is a refreshing counterpoint to the smoky, salt-rubbed chicken.

If you're hankering for dessert, visit the VFW Auxiliary's table. If not, visit anyway; you may change your mind.

Auxiliary members make their family favorites for each chicken feed; offerings depend on who's baking. For 50 cents per piece, we tried toffee bars, walnut-studded brownies and outstanding lemon bars with a splendidly buttery, crumbly shortbread crust. For a dollar, we shared a foamy root beer float — our anniversary splurge.

Thirty-five to 40 volunteers make the chicken feeds happen. In addition to the grillers and the crack-of-dawn prep crew — Jack Brimer and Frank Mezara work on both — there are evening kitchen teams, servers, dishwashers, ticket takers, cashiers and a cleanup detail — all of them veterans.

At 89, cashier Glenn Johnson is senior. He served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and still directs the post's honor guard.

Ticket man Bob Davey, the post chaplain, made the Normandy landing and then walked all the way to Germany.

According to the VFW's Web site, its mission is to "honor the dead by helping the living." As one of the largest VFW posts in Wisconsin — with nearly 900 members — Post 305 can do this in style.

The charcoal chicken dinners are just one of a staggering number of charity events the post holds, sponsors or supports each year. It raises money to meet the needs of veterans and their families and also to serve the broader Eau Claire community and beyond.

Recent beneficiaries of the 305's generosity include the Tomah VA Medical Center, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, the American Cancer Society, a fundraiser for Ugandan children undertaken by local high school students, the Ski Sprites, a breast cancer awareness initiative, the Eau Claire Ski Club and Positive Alternative, a youth mentoring program in Menomonie.

If you search on Google for "charcoal chicken," you'll find restaurants of that name in Australia, New Zealand, Virginia, Connecticut, Texas and Maryland. And a group in Manchester, Mich., that charcoal-broils some 19,000 pounds of chicken on a single summer day.

In Wisconsin, your search mostly will find benefits and fundraisers held by veterans, churches and other community groups.

Good food cooked for good causes tastes especially fine to us.

Main Course, the Leader-Telegram's restaurant review column, runs the fourth Sunday of the month. Diners' Notebook, a sampling of favorite restaurant offerings, runs the second Tuesday of the month.