Three cheers for the red, white, and blue, and also for Viale’s Fourth of July tradition of serving up piles of fried chicken and other scrumptious southern staples. Chef Greg Reeves and his Central Square all stars will be at it again this year making sure you get a square meal in before heading to the Esplanade for the fireworks with buckets of chicken served with potato salad, porky beans and cornbread, as well as shrimp ‘n grits, esquites, and grilled beans. Top it all off with an order of banana pudding with coffee whipped cream and you can’t go wrong. The special menu will be available from 5:00 to 8:00pm on Thursday, July 4th, plus there will be an abbreviated Viale regular menu available if you’re not feeling the Southern fried speshies this year. Grab a reservation here or give them a call at 617.576.1900 to get your grub to go.

Scope out some other tasty ways to celebrate the 4th of July.