Are the chicken and jo’s at this Tacoma bar still the best under new owners?

Is the Pacific Northwest actually a fried-chicken haven?

I’m not talking about the plethora of fast-food chicken chains that have decided Tacoma Mall is the place to be. Nor do I mean the various fried-chicken sandwiches available at local hangouts — the Hot Honey at Dusty’s Hideaway and the Barnburner at the revamped Terry’s Bar & Grill are two standouts. For the record, I prefer the original or hot tenders at Buddy’s Chicken & Waffles as intended. If desiring of the Southern buttermilk style with bone-in thighs, Southern Kitchen and Pacific Southern continue to do it up. One of the best things to happen to Tacoma last year was The Chicken Supply double-frying its mind-bendingly good Filipino-style chicken in a bright yellow trailer parked outside Beer Star.

Here I’m talking about the regional delicacy of chicken and jo’s and the place most locals will tell you to find ‘em. And I agree.

Chicken & Jo’s at Hans’s Place

As a transplant, the world of chicken and jo’s required some research, but I needed little convincing to understand that when you want fried chicken, it’s among the upper echelon of choices. It’s also the ultimate bar food, requiring no watchful eye or particular culinary prowess or multitudes of equipment — aside from the essential pressure cooker filled with fresh oil. In between pouring drinks and cashing bills, the bartender can shuffle to the Henny Penny in the corner, pull wings and drumsticks from the cooler, slice a Russet, bread both and toss ‘em in the chamber, latch the hatch, press a few buttons and walk away until it beeps 12 minutes later. The only problem is that you can only fit so much chicken in the chamber, and you can’t speed up the cook.

There are a few places around Tacoma to enjoy this regional delicacy, including Anglea’s, 2121 Pub and, thank goodness, the new Terry’s. But every time I’ve talked with a longtime resident or Tacoma native about the wonder of pressure-fried chicken, Hans’s Place receives top billing. Does its reputation still hold under new proprietors?

When I first visited Hans’s as the owner of 45 years was retiring, the chicken glistened, even though it’s not sauced. It was so hot I should have waited to take a bite, but I gnawed right into a wing. The skin was crispy, the meat juicy. I love that here you can order your jo’s as “chunks,” wherein the ratio of lightly breaded crispy sides increases exponentially compared to the usual entire quarter of a potato.

The new owners have redecorated, adding modern wood slats under the bar along with fancier tables and chairs. Most of the chaotic backbar — old receipts, greeting cards and whatever else might stick to the walls of an old dive — have been removed. It feels mildly different, and on my first return visit, there was only one other customer in the place, but the chicken still glistened. The skin was crispy, and the meat was juicy.

Earlier this year, when the craving struck, the bar was packed and the wait for chicken was over an hour, so I tried again a few weeks later. There appears to be no rhyme or reason as to when Hans’s is busy because this Saturday it wasn’t. The bartender offered us an array of new sauces, but the chicken was the same as it ever was.

Hans’s Place

• 6405 South Tacoma Way, 253-474-6503, hanssplacetacoma.com
• Sunday-Tuesday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday 11 a.m.-midnight
• Details: dive bar known for chicken and jo’s; order ahead by phone