Keeping Time

If you press her, Willie Mae Seaton will tell you that she uses a “wet batter” when she makes her signature fried chicken. Beyond that kernel of information, she says nothing recipe-related. After 40 years in business, Seaton and her fried chicken were catapulted to sudden fame in 2005, when the James Beard Foundation bestowed its America’s Classic award on her 30-seat restaurant, Willie Mae’s Scotch House. A few months later, the building that served as both her...