In reply to David S. Wallens :
My next one .....
In reply to David S. Wallens :
My next one .....
914Driver said:In reply to David S. Wallens :
My next one .....
I think this is the actual correct answer.
Bojangles is #1 followed closely by Zaxby's. The Zaxby's sauce is amazing.
Hattie B's in nashville is the most memorable. Shut the cluck up is.... something else. Next time I'll go for Damn Hot instead.
For general purpose chicken, the breakfast chicken mcgriddle from mcd's is a handheld chicken and waffles, and just plain works.
For chick-fil-a, the spicy chicken, add pepper jack is the way to go. no lettuce or tomatoes.
In reply to Colin Wood :
Yeah, it’s not far for you. I stopped there while coming home on I-4. Both times I’ve been there, no wait.
Locally to Tallahassee a legend... Lindy's. First opened with chicken breast sandwiches in like 1970, when Chick-fil-A, etc. were still just unhatched eggs.
Two stores have survived all these years.
Popeyes spicy when on a road trip. 
If we're talking the traditional "Southern Style" chicken sandwich, my go-to's are the Chick-Fil-A Spicy Deluxe and the Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Easy to acquire and tasty.
But if we're including other types of sandwiches, like subs (aka grinders, hoagies, etc), I like a good chicken parm or chicken cutlet sub over those all day. Many small pizza/sub shops in the Boston area have them, but it HAS to be a homemade cutlet. Some places try to pass off frozen pre-made chicken tenders as "Italian chicken" and then slap some marinara on there, and that's just wrong.
I know I started this about chicken sandwiches, but if we’re bringing Zaxby’s to the mix, we gotta mention Guthrie’s. Rumor says G influenced the Z, but I wasn’t there.
But I did live two dorms over from the Athens Guthrie’s. All they offered were chicken fingers. You had one choice, really: no slaw for extra fries. Actually, two choices: there or to go.
Our meal plan didn’t offer Sunday dinner, so that’s where the dorm crew could be found. “For here, no slaw, extra fries, please.”
Its not Fast food, but the Chicken Ranch sandwich at Twin Peaks is great. Skip the funky,spicy mayo though.
Ground Squirel in 29 Palms CA. It was likely a special of the week, unforgettable.
We all loved this place so much, spent about $350 there on lunch for 6, swag, to go beers. Just kind of hole in the wall type of place, but everything was over the top good.
+1 for spicy Chick-fil-A always consistent and readily available.
For a local favorite, Brava's (started as a hot dog cart, moved to a food truck , and then a brick and mortar)
Just bumping this up because at this weekend’s GRM G2G (did I do that correctly?) in Sanford, Florida, I met a chicken sandwich that deserves introduction: the Hot Butter Chicken Katsu from a place called Sweet & Salty Island Grindz. It’s in Henry’s Depot (free parking).
First, check out the size of that thing. The bun cannot even come close to containing the patty.
And what’s that on top of the chicken? 
Macaroni salad! Are you kidding me!?
It’s hot, it’s cold, it’s spicy, it’s crunchy, it’s a festival of flavor. Plan accordingly and come hungry. And wear your sweat pants.
This dude drove up from Miami for one. I’m sure I’ll be returning from Ormond.
Its not actually that spicy. I like spicy, but only a mild amount. This was just about perfect.
Yeah, it was not lethally spicy. Like you said, it was the right amount of spicy. The mac salad was the unexpected bonus.
I'm just going to break down the larger fast food places, because if we get into local joints, it'll get messy.
Bojangles Cajun Club is my usual go-to.
Pollo Campero is a sometimes favorite when I'm looking a good herb and spice mixture, but they don't have *ANY MAYO* there, and adding a light spread of mayo to their sandwich makes it legit killer. They do have Cholula, which is good to add to their Campero sauce and dip nuggies into. They also *ask* you if you want pickles, so you can say no, but their pickles are pretty good.
Popeye's chicken is pretty good. Unfortunately, they're in the same parking lot as Harbor Freight. I don't go there unless I need to pick up some new hammers, or else I'll wind up picking up hammers anyhow.. I do love that Anne Rice picked a fight with the founder.
McDonald's McChicken is awful, but sometimes I just crave a giant chicken McNugget with too much mayo on it. It's like a gas station hot dog- I know I'll regret it, but I do it anyhow.
Burger King? Nah.
Wendy's burgers are better than their chicken, and their burgers aren't even in my top 5 favorites. (Char Grill makes my favorite fast food burger, but they're a local chain and don't do chicken.)
Sonic makes an alright chicken sandwich, but you might as well go call ahead to the restaurant of your choice and get take out, because the wait time is about the same.
Chick-Fil-A can keep their soggy tragedy, along with their stupid, limp pickles and Stepford-wives level brainwashed staff. I want hostility and indifference with my chicken, and above all, I want my chicken to actually be good.
PDQ did so incredibly poorly in the area they shut down and left. Their food had no distinct flavor to set it apart.
I was in my usual rush/panic for the Hilton Head concours but, at some point, had to stop for food.
There was a BBQ joint in the gas station parking lot.
Score!
Not.
They were soooo slow that I ditched the line, went into the gas station to pee, and found the same people at the head of the line.
The clock was ticking. I saw a KFC not too far away. Can’t remember the last time I ate at one.
No customers. One dude behind the counter. Didn’t seem to have a care in the world.
Handed me a hot chicken sandwich like a minute after I placed my order–maybe even quicker. Not as good as Bojangles but not bad, either.
Would go back.
I mention it in the GRM meetup thread, but it's worth another plug: Wawa has a roast chicken sandwich that's like 3000% better than it has any right to be. And bonus points for the ability to customize it any way you want (raw onion + grilled onion = win). It's a seriously good chicken sandwich, regardless of the fact that it comes from a chain gas station.
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
+1 on Char-Grill!
Its been a few years, but Hardee's used to have a good chicken sandwich. Bojangles is pretty good. Chick-Fil-A is overrated.
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
Ive never understood the love for PDQ. I get it, you want to make healthy-ish chicken. But fried chicken isnt healthy. It just doesn't work.
Now do Guthrie's, Zaxby's, and Raising Cane's!
Went to Raising Cane's.
They essentially have 3 menu items and the only variable is how many of each you want in the box.
Still took waaaaayyyyy too long to get the food.
And the chicken was the definition of 'meh'.
I didn't actually feel ripped off, but absolutely not worth slowing down for.
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
When I lived in Raleigh, I remember PDQ opening at Falls of Nuese Road and Spring Forest (I think that was the roads) and how excited I was to eat there because of all the hype. It was the most stale, bland, unflavored food I've ever ate. One trip and nah. Never again.
I'll also add to Brett's comments about McDonald's chicken sandwich. Horrendous. So bad. Its like they didn't even try and knew we'd eat it anyway. McDonald's is good for "cheap" burgers and that's about it. Anything beyond the McDouble and I'm disappointed.
As requested above, I'll add my comments on Raising Canes. It's good. That's about all I have to say about it. Nothing special. Nothing bad. I do like the sauce -dodges someones comments "yOu KnOw ItS a CoPy Of...."
In reply to Duke :
Raising Cane's is a sauce store that happens to sell chicken strips. I don't get the hype.
We managed to save $13 the last time we went because I didn't want a drink, so we could split the 6 strip package. Yes, not wanting a drink that cost the store about a nickel saved $13 on two people getting lunch. Ridiculous.
Here's a little hint, the best part of Canes is available at Walmart as "chicken finger sauce". Way cheaper, and it turns out, it tastes even better on chicken and fries that aren't soggy and expensive. And you don't have to deal with the most berkeleyed up parking lot entrance and exit I've ever dealt with, but that might just be a local problem.
We had a job in the industrial park next to Pease up yonder in Preach land around this time last year and tried out a Dave's Hot Chicken in Portsmouth. It was decent enough that we went back a second time at the end of the project. You can pick your spice level and sides which is helpful given that my Irish mother thinks having a pepper shaker near the food means spicy. They're opening one here in town, I'll probably give it a try at some point. There are a couple of Chik Fil A's in the area but I'd never bother to wait in the lines I've seen.
Scotty Con Queso said:In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
When I lived in Raleigh, I remember PDQ opening at Falls of Nuese Road and Spring Forest
That's where it was. The building is apparently going to become a Whataburger at some point in time.
Mr_Asa: Now do Guthrie's, Zaxby's, and Raising Cane's!
There is a Zaxby's in Raleigh. I've never been. There are no Guthrie's in North Carolina. I just learned there is a Raising Cane's about 40 miles away. The next time I go out that way, I'll try to remember to check it out.
I used to love Raising Canes, 10+ years ago. Now it is a sad, expensive disappointment.
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