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Back in 2010, Laurelhurst Market's David Kreifels, Ben Dyer and Jason Owens showed The Oregonian how to grill Kalbi. Now the trio is planning a new project, Reverend's BBQ, a Sellwood barbecue joint where fried chicken will play a big role.

(The Oregonian)

The team behind Laurelhurst Market steakhouse plans to open a Sellwood neighborhood barbecue joint, The Oregonian has confirmed. Eater PDX

the new project after liquor license paperwork appeared last month.

If all goes according to plan, Reverend's BBQ, the latest project from Laurelhurst's Ben Dyer, Jason Owens, and David Kreifels, will open in the former Eleni's Estiatorio space this spring. Eleni's, the 13-year-old Greek restaurant at 7712 S.E. 13th Ave.,

.

But Reverend's menu won't be limited to barbecue, The Oregonian has learned.

"We've been wanting to open a fried chicken shack for years now, and BBQ just seemed to mesh really well with that," wrote Dyer, who also owns the underrated East Burnside Street Hawaiian restaurant

. "Fried chicken stands to play a very prevalent role (at Reverend's). Oh, and we plan to try our best to make some delicious BBQ as well."

If asked to peer deep into my crystal ball and pick one food likely to take Portland by storm in 2014, it would be fried chicken. Already trending in

,

and

, where hip new fried chicken joints make food blog headlines seemingly monthly, in Portland, our most famously crisp bird comes deep fried at

.

There's already good bird in Portland, such as the skillet-fried version at the Country Cat, the crusty golden birds that draw lines at the Screen Door and the broasted wonders at roadhouses and chicken shacks throughout the metro area. But with Reverend's on the horizon -- and at least one other project that remains only rumor -- we could be looking back at 2014 as the year Portland went all-in on fried chicken.

Oh yeah, and delicious barbecue.

-- Michael Russell