Fried Chicken and Pool at Portland’s Reel M Inn

At Reel M Inn, the fried chicken comes out hot enough to make the wait make sense. The crust is crisp, the meat underneath stays juicy, and the dark-meat pieces have a particularly tender, satisfying texture. This is bar food in the best old-fashioned sense: hearty, freshly fried and not trying to be delicate about it.

The Portland spot is a small dive bar rather than a quick-service chicken joint, so dinner unfolds at bar speed. You order, pick out a beer, mixed drink or cider, and settle in while a limited fryer turns out chicken in batches. A stop here works better when there is nowhere urgent to be.

Chicken meals can be built around wings, thighs, strips and other pieces, generally with JoJos on the side. The food is made to order, and preparation commonly runs about 30 to 60 minutes. That is a meaningful stretch of time, but it is also central to the rhythm of the place.

Ordering early is sensible. Then the meal becomes an excuse to linger over a drink, catch up with a companion or watch the room do what neighborhood bars do. The same small crew may be tending bar, preparing food and handling tables, which gives the operation a hands-on, slightly scrappy character.

A four-piece chicken-and-JoJos order can be substantial enough to share. Tenders make an easy vehicle for sauces, while legs are a fine choice for someone who wants the juicier side of the fryer.

The JoJos are thick potato wedges with a sturdy crisp exterior and flaky layers inside. They have enough presence to become a favorite part of the plate rather than mere backup for the chicken.

The chicken’s batter also holds up nicely to dipping. House-made ranch, horseradish ranch, honey mustard, buffalo and sweet chili sauces give a table plenty of directions to take things, and condiments are available without an extra charge.

Fried pickles and onion rings provide another route through the fryer, using a lighter, tempura-like vegetable batter. Cheese bites are another easy add-on when the table is already headed toward a full-scale fried-food spread.

Reel M Inn’s exterior has a worn, no-frills look, while the interior brings more color and commotion. Graffiti-marked walls, the bar, tables and a pool table give the compact room an eclectic, well-used personality.

It is lively without pretending to be polished. Regulars and newcomers share the same close quarters, and conversation can start simply because people are sitting near one another waiting on food or taking turns at the table.

The pool table is free to use, a small detail that can easily stretch a chicken order into a whole evening. On some Sundays, a Nintendo Switch has been set up for Mario Kart, adding a bit of living-room competition to the bar mix.

Cold beer is an obvious match for salty chicken and JoJos, with tap pours and canned choices kept in a refrigerator. The bar also makes mixed drinks and carries cider, so a group does not have to order in lockstep.

A boysenberry lemonade cider has made a bright companion to the richer food. But a straightforward beer and a plate of chicken is entirely in keeping with the room’s unfussy approach.

The seating is limited to bar seats and a handful of tables with stools or pull-out chairs. During busy stretches, the small layout becomes more social and more crowded at the same time.

The bathroom is very small, and navigating the seating can be difficult when the room fills up. Reel M Inn is best approached as a casual, energetic bar stop with a serious fried-chicken payoff, not as a spacious restaurant built around a fast turnaround.

It also fits neatly before nearby evening plans, though there is no need to rush through it. With a drink in hand, a pool cue nearby and an order working through the fryer, the wait has plenty to occupy it.