Chaptico Market & Deli, Chaptico, St. Mary’s County, Maryland

Nancy and I were dropping off some donations at the Smile Store at St. Peter’s in Lusby when we ran into our friend and neighbor, Eric Zabiegalski. You remember Eric. You first first met him here. He has a new book out, UnThink, about developing mental flexibility. I bought a copy (he said I was mentioned in it) via Amazon, and Mr. Bezos and his minions sent me what turned out to be an entirely different (and really impenetrable) book within the Unthink cover. I gave it to an aghast Eric, who gave me a copy of his actual book, which turned out to be eminently readable and thought-provoking.

Anyway Eric volunteers at Smile, and he was chatting with two other volunteers when we walked up. Somehow, the four-minute conversation turned to food, and one of Eric’s friends announced that the best fried chicken anywhere is sold at the Chaptico Market. Next thing you know, it was 9:15 am and Eric and I were en route to the Chaptico Market to get some fried chicken. It’s a good looking place.

Back in 1965, John Wood opened it as a country grocery market with a deli counter. Soon it was locally renowned for its country sausage, stuffed ham, and fried chicken. A dairy bar occupies part of the building,

but the market area stretches almost the full length, far beyond the entry area. It’s a well stocked store. Someone there bakes a lot of good looking cakes.

Eric and I ended up buying a ten-piece pack of fried chicken ($17.50 plus), and we added a plastic cup of hot sauce and several thousand napkins. Be prepared.

There’s no seating in the market, but there are two picnic tables in a shady park across the street. The object on the lower left is a fascinating historic marker.

But first the fried chicken. I started with a thigh.

Note first of all that the thigh had been dusted with flour rather than dipped in batter. That’s one of the keys to great fried chicken. The batter just adds a lot of fried dough. Granted, fried dough has its appeal in a funnel cake sort of way, but for chicken, toss the chicken in a brown paper bag with flour and some salt and pepper and whatever else you like, and then fry it. No batter.

As Eric took a bite of a breast, he immediately remarked how delicious the skin was. I said “mmm hm. Thm thmmm’s, and grmmm,” signaling that the thigh meat was juicy and delicious, as good as the skin. We both followed with a wing and then a drumstick, and the chicken was consistently well cooked. I wound up with the remaining chicken, a breast and a thigh, and had it cold for supper. That brought back memories of childhood school field trips, when Dear would pack a lunch for me of cold fried chicken and a pimento cheese sandwich with dill chips and iceberg on white bread. The thigh was delicious, and the breast had good skin but, as usual with breast meat, was not averse to some Texas Pete.

It was a very good start to the day, there in the park eating tasty fried chicken. The park is the site of the Chaptico wharf, a major tobacco and smuggling depot from well before the Revolution (Chaptico was established in 1683) through the Civil War, at least. The port has since silted up. The British burned the town, vandalized the brick church, and desecrated graves there during the War of 1812. During the Civil War, the Chaptico post office had two slots for outgoing mail, one for mail going north, and one for mail bound south of the Potomac. Lincoln only received one vote in the county, from William Love, who shot his way out of an ambush on his way home from the polls. (And you thought things were heated these days.) Locals fought on both sides. A local Confederate volunteer, James Waring, was captured at Gettysburg and sent to the large prisoner of war camp at Point Lookout at the other end of the county. He escaped by squeezing in among a wagonload of corpses, and made his way home.

That part of St. Mary’s County — District 7 — is full of history, beautiful countryside, and unassuming but delicious places to eat. After the Chaptico Market, Eric and I decided to check out another place not far away, and Wow! Stay tuned, and in the meantime, head to the Chaptico Market.

I won’t comment on the “Best Fried Chicken” award claim of Eric’s friend (and many others) for Chaptico Market. I’ve heard a lot of comments about the fried chicken at Smokehouse Barbecue Shack and other places recently. I find that people have very strong opinions. Remembering the fate of William Love, I hope to stay out of the line of fire, and I dearly want to avoid having to sneak out of the county like James Waring. I’ll just end with this — try it yourself. It’s real good. It may well be the best, but I have more chicken to try — it’s tough job, but someone has to do it. But do try Chaptico Market’s chicken. I may see you there when I go back for some stuffed ham and country sausage. And ice cream. And some more chicken.

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