This Arizona rock star makes killer fried chicken. Now he's selling it with wine pairings

Bahar Anooshahr, Arizona Republic
Updated ·2 min read
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As promised, Maynard James Keenan, winemaker and vocalist for Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer opened a new concept, Four 8 Fried Chicken in Old Town Cottonwood. He made the promise when he opened his Four Eight tasting room in Dec. 2022.

The ribbon cutting for the fried chicken restaurant took place on March 14 at 11 a.m. The restaurant opened in the space that formerly housed the Merkin Vineyards Tasting Room and Osteria, which has since moved to the Hilltop campus.

The Four 8 Fried Chicken menu, which draws from Keenan's family recipes with input from chef Monty Frost, was designed to pair with sparkling Arizona meads, ciders and wines.

What's on the menu at Four 8 Fried Chicken

Side dishes include Keenan's father's green beans and bacon, potato salad, hushpuppies, green chile cheesy shells, jalapeno cornbread and fennel slaw. On the dessert menu, find waffles, housemade gelato and seasonal bread puddings.

The main event is the southwestern twist on hot chicken.

As guests wait for their made-to-order chicken, they can taste a variety of Arizona wines, meads and ciders, which is probably why you're in Cottonwood in the first place.

“Many of the meads people are familiar with, if at all, tend to be treated like flavored beers, fruit wines or brandys,” Keenan said in a press release. “Barely anything to do with honey at all. I was far more interested in what a true honey wine might be like. So we dove in head first. After the first batch was finished, the immediate thought I had was that this would go perfectly with my spicy fried chicken recipe. It did and here we are.”

Visit Four 8 Fried Chicken

Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

Details: 1001 N. Main St., Cottonwood. four8wineworks.com.

Bon appetit: Mon Cheri champagne and charcuterie bar is open in Scottsdale

Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maynard James Keenan of Tool opens Four 8 Fried Chicken in Cottonwood