When Joseph and Amanda Burton got married in October 2020 at the height of the pandemic, it meant that a honeymoon immediately following their wedding was out of the question. But a year later, the couple (who met while in cooking school at the Baltimore International College) were finally able to celebrate their nuptials in Paris—and it was life-changing.

While exploring the famed open-air Marché Bastille, Joseph (a classically French-trained chef) and Amanda (who worked in sales for Marriott) came across a rotisserie chicken stand. “We purchased half a chicken from the rotisserie guy, and he cut it with scissors,” says Joseph. “We sat in the lobby of our hotel and ate it. For years, I’d been hearing chefs say that the chicken in Europe tastes totally different than the chicken here. I finally understood—it was the best chicken I’d ever tasted.”

When the couple returned stateside, they decided to replicate what they ate in Paris by opening their own rotisserie restaurant, Rooted Rotisserie, in the historic Hollins Market neighborhood.

“This is a concept in Baltimore that’s lacking,” says Joseph. “With my background in classical French cuisine, I knew the techniques and I know French flavor—the key is to make a really rich brine and let it rest in the brine for 24 to 48 hours.”

How did you come up with the name for the restaurant?
Amanda Burton: Joe likes farms, and he likes to plant things. He is an authentic chef who likes to use authentic ingredients. We are rooted in faith, rooted in community, and rooted in hospitality. Being rooted became our core value and suited the rotisserie really well.

How did come to settle on this space?
AB: One of our clients who bought dinners from us during the pandemic worked construction in the area and told us to check it out. We thought a restaurant was a big endeavor. But when we saw the space, we fell in love with the brick arches and brick floor. It lent itself perfectly to French fare and looked as historic as the streets in Paris.

How did you learn to cook?
Joseph Burton: I spent a lot of time with my great-aunt, Mary Lee Felton. She had garden plots at Druid Hill Park. After school, we’d weed, plant, and harvest vegetables and then make different soups at her home. Whatever she didn’t use, she’d deliver to a different family member’s home. A kid that age wants to run around with friends and doesn’t want to garden and make soup. I didn’t enjoy it at the time, but I learned a wealth of information that has helped me later in life.

Tell me about the menu.
JB: I wanted the menu to feel very French and family-oriented. I wanted it to feel homey in a sense that maybe you’re going to your well-travelled grandma’s house for the holidays. The menu I came up with is the French classics, the duck confit in confit potatoes, the braised short rib, and the rotisserie chicken.

What did you want the space to feel like?
JB: I wanted it to feel like you’re coming to my family’s dining room. My aunt is at the helm of this place—she’s what sparked joy at a very early age in my culinary career. We’ve incorporated loads of pictures of her throughout the restaurant to allow her to be there and allow guests to see her.

AB: We created an ancestry wall with photos of our parents and grandparents. It was important to have them watching over us.

Promising a “chicken for every pot” may have been a political slogan back in Herbert Hoover’s day, but today that chicken, a symbol of prosperity, would have to be prepared in a rotisserie. The owners of Chachi’s in Old Goucher came to that conclusion when choosing on-the-spit birds as a signature dish for their restaurant. We’re glad they did.

Husband-and-wife team Karl and Stephanie Diehn, both restaurant veterans—he of Dylan’s Oyster Cellar; she of Clavel, among others—went a step farther by placing potatoes in the bottom of the rotisserie to catch drippings from the 3 1⁄2-pound juicy chickens, resulting in chunky mounds of roasted deliciousness. They also added seasonal salads and soups to a tightly scripted menu. In case you’re wondering if the restaurant is named after the character played by Scott Baio in the TV show Happy Days, it’s not. Chachi is a nod to Stephanie Diehn’s family nickname.

Finding the place, which opened in September in the former Larder space, can be a little like finding train platform 9 3⁄4 in a Harry Potter movie if you’re a muggle. But persevere. Even though the address is 2223 Maryland Ave., the entrance is off West 23rd Street, where the tiny storefront with about 20 seats shares a courtyard with the wine-and-beer tavern Fadensonnen. You can also eat outside, where cafe tables are scattered among ivy-tendrilled walls. There is also covered, communal seating with several heaters and a main fire hearth. On our visit, we nestled close to the blaze, awaiting our meal with mugs of hot mulled cider.

Before being seated, diners place their orders at Chachi’s indoor counter. A cute menu, formed with magnetic alphabet letters, is on the wall. Salads and soups change seasonally, but year-round, you can choose a whole, half, or quarter chicken, all of which have been dry-brined for 24 hours and seasoned with herbs and spices before cooking. The dish is accompanied by several house-made sauces from the four that are offered: garlic mayo, sweet and sour, ranch, and green anchovy.

We opted for a succulent half bird with ranch and green anchovy sauces, which are served separately and packed with flavor. We couldn’t resist sampling a bowl of schmaltz potatoes (the ones cooked in the rotisserie) sprinkled with coarse salt, which shouted comfort food. A staff member brings the dishes to your table as they’re ready. In addition to the chicken, we were impressed with a beet-cured salmon salad with cannellini beans, cubed beets, pickled green beans, and feathery dill sprigs. The carrot-apple salad, tossed with Dijon mustard, was also a standout. A Hubbard squash soup—the vegetable is named after one of the first farmers to grow the winter squash in the U.S.—was a knockout, with ginger, star anise, and a swirl of optional sour cream atop the orange elixir.

The Diehns have elevated their PA-sourced birds to star status with their own style of trimmings. Forget the pot. Go for Chachi’s rotisserie.

CHACHI’S 2223 Maryland Ave. HOURS: Tues.-Fri., 5-10 p.m.; Sat.- Sun., 3-10 p.m. PRICES: From the rotisserie: $8-27; from the kitchen: $6-15; drinks: $5.