*Hen and Fin will open its doors at 4532 Georgia Avenue in the coming weeks.*

by Austin Schott

“The Batter Matters”

Hen and Fin is all about satisfying your Southern-food taste buds.

“The batter matters,” owner Torie McDonald tells me. It’s one of her many signature slogans.

Hen & Fin, McDonald’s newly established southern chicken and fish fry eatery, opened its first location in Waldorf, Maryland, this last January and that neighborhood welcomed McDonald with open arms. Hen and Fin’s customers lined up past the door to grab some smothered turkey wings and sides. Even in the midst of the pandemic, customers have been steadily streaming to the cuisine.

And coming later this January, she’s opening a location in Petworth — in the prior Flip It Bakery location — at 4532 Georgia Avenue NW.

McDonald is aiming to create a home-style environment at Hen and Fin. “In order for you to get the quality you may be used to growing up, you have to prepare it at home, make it yourself.”

That homemade style is McDonald’s modus operandi and stems from her own family.

She tells me her family, who is scattered around the greater DC area, is an assortment of foodies and chefs in their own right. “We’ve always found ways to get together. My aunts and my grandmother – they were excellent cooks. And so I had the privilege of enjoying their food for quite some time…Anytime there’s an event: a baby shower, a birthday, Thanksgiving, Easter – we’re having a barbeque.”

*Hen and Fin’s chicken wings on display. You can’t walk past without asking for an order.*

Hen and Fin stands to benefit from the culinary skills across McDonald’s family. Many of the styles come directly from McDonald’s grandmother or her aunt.

“My aunt is the one everyone calls on to bring her macaroni and cheese. And so, our mac & cheese is her recipe.” The recipe includes four different cheeses, including a mixture of creams and hard cheese…she won’t tell me the specifics hinting that it’s a family secret.

And the sweet potato pie is an homage to her grandmother, who recently passed, and her recipe. The pie is savory, with a complex combination of spices, that she says sell out like crazy. “We can’t keep them!”

I asked McDonald how her family feels about opening her opening a restaurant and sharing family recipes with the masses. “They love it. They call out the recipes that are familiar for them. I have a huge family, so they come from all over and enjoy the food.”

Hen and Fin’s attention to detail brings their meals to the next level.

I can testify to the delicacy that is Hen and Fin’s fried fish and sides. Just thinking back on my meal there makes my mouth water. There is a complexity of layered spices that blows you away with flavor. I would happily drive the 39 minutes to Waldorf to get another helping. Thankfully, they’ll be opening just up the block in a few weeks.

So when is the new location coming?

McDonald isn’t in any rush to open her new restaurant’s second location. She is seeking perfection, and perfection takes time. That being said, they’re planning to open by the end of January.

“We could have opened a year earlier, but that extra year was just spent securing vendors that could support the quality ingredients we wanted to bring,” McDonald told me in an interview.

McDonald says she’s been blessed in that her income doesn’t depend on how fast she can open a restaurant. McDonald is a real estate agent, and Hen and Fin is her passion project.

“It wasn’t like we just wanted to open up a restaurant just for the sake of opening a restaurant. No, we wanted to bring quality food, or we didn’t want to do it at all.”

Fry Cook, Marcus Jones, is preparing chicken wings in the batter that matters — Fry Cook, **Marcus Jones**, is preparing chicken wings in the batter that matters

McDonald’s real estate practice allows her to take the extra time on the recipes and devote additional funds to the ingredients and sourcing – a benefit those who depend on minimizing every expense may not have.

“I feel like it's all down to margins,” McDonald told me. “I feel people want to maximize profits. You know, if you can make a decent macaroni and cheese with one or two cheeses, why would you incorporate four? The additional cheeses are probably more expensive, but those are the ones that are going to bring that unique and nostalgic flavor.”

She tells me that “nostalgic” flavor brings her back to her childhood. That nostalgia is really the aim of Hen and Fin’s dishes.

Catfish and shrimp fresh out of the fryer

McDonald does tell me how excited she is to come to Petworth. Her husband grew up in the area and knows Petworth well. “We love the Petworth community. It’s very diverse. I love the corner.” Hen and Fin is coming to the corner of Georgia Ave and Buchanan Street NW.

She’s hoping to engage the local community and hire on folks from the neighborhood to really become a part of the Petworth family.

She also hopes Hen and Fin will offer new variety to Petworth. She plans to keep her doors open late and satisfy late night hunger pains – up until 2 or 3am.

Photo of fried goodness by Tony J Photography

COVID and Hen and Fin

Hen and Fin’s original location opened in January, so my first thought when she told me was, that’s unfortunate timing — they only had two months of typical restaurant-life before Covid struck the US in earnest.

Actually, McDonald told me Hen and Fin is managing just fine. They luckily developed a regular clientele between their opening and the March shutdown. Their drive through and delivery options kept their customers satisfied while dining options were most restricted. “Our food is just good,” she tells me when reflecting on the customer during the shutdown. “It just tastes great. So, although we obviously couldn’t have the bustling lines out the door, we still had steady customers.”

This is where McDonald’s other slogan comes in. She tells customers: Hen and Fin isn’t about “carry-out” it’s about “carry-home.”

Again, Hen and Fin’s essence is recreating home-cooked meals, so perhaps taking McDonald’s dishes back to your family is exactly how it’s meant to be enjoyed.

Hen and Fin
4532 Georgia Ave NW
Sunday to Thursday 11am-7pm
Friday to Saturday 11am-9pm
henandfin.com