I have become loyal to Mary Brown’s up here in Canada. We went from being a KFC household in the 70s and 80s, to ordering more rotisserie chicken for 20 years, to an occasional Popeye’s or indie fried chicken household for about 4 years from 2017-2021.
We have been a Mary Brown’s household for the past 3 years.
Which are your favourite fried chicken chains? What do you order?
We order the all dark meat 4 piece meal which comes with potato wedges, cole slaw and a drink, and some more dark meat fried chicken on its own, and extra cole slaw.
Brown’s Chicken is a formerly big Midwest chain that is now down to far fewer locations, all in the Chicago metro area. I loved it as a kid (and there was one right in the neighborhood) so it was a frequent weeknight pickup when mom went to work as well. On a recent visit I happen to see one. The chicken is still quite good. A very crispy, crunchy coating. Less greasy than KFC, though I’m sure that varies greatly depending on location and how well they’re run.
Out here in CA, there’s KFC, but the local ones are all customer service disasters. There’s also Church’s, which always tend to be in less-well off neighborhoods and are always an adventure to visit thanks to the, uh, occasionally emphatic clientele, and sometimes, the employees.
There’s about a BILLION Nashville-style Hot Chicken places in town. I don’t touch that stuff.
I was never a fan of Popeye’s as I don’t care for cayenne, but apparently it’s quite good if you like that sort of thing.
Yes, it’s very seasoned (some would say “too salty”) but that’s sort what I like about it. That, and their mashed potatoes and gravy, are like the kryptonite to my Superman.
I grew up in NJ, and Chicken Holiday was our go-to when we wanted fried chicken. So much better than KFC, and they had a fried veggie combo to boot (onion rings, mushrooms, and zucchini). I have fond memories of Dad and I driving up to see the Yankees with a bucket of Chicken Holiday, and eating most of it on the road.
I rarely eat fried chicken now–maybe once a year at most.
The secret is out. @mariacarmen has been pimping their chicken for years. I must’ve had an outlier bc the one branch we tried was just ok.
Last time I had KFC it destroyed me, so we never went back. We have a Raising Cane’s and a Big Dean’s chicken in town, both only offer tenders. I’ve tried the latter but I’d honestly much rather get the Korean fried chicken from a couple of local places in town
Our Giant and Weis supermarket fried chicken is hugely popular, but I’ve not tried it.
I had a fried chicken sandwich once at a gas station krispy krunchy. Now, I like salt, much more than is healthy for me, but the chicken sandwich was way, way too salty even for me. Maybe I hit an off sandwich?
I used to get fried chicken dinners at the local restaurants, but since covid, none of them carry it anymore. I guess they all used the same supplier? Though one restaurant told me it was because they couldn’t get quality chicken anymore. Uh-huh, sure.
Now if I want fried chicken, it is usually grocery store stuff. Which tastes fine while eating at first, but becomes increasingly disappointing and disgusting.
I suppose i should be happy to have a temptation removed.
It’s HIGHLY location dependent. I’ve had it good, but the local near me tends to leave their stuff out under the heat lamps forever and I’m guessing their oil needs changing a lot more.
Oh man! I totally forgot about Korean places. Bonchon has the most locations in my neighborhood, but I find their menu grouping obnoxious. They refuse to sell individual sized portions during the week. They ONLY sell wings in 10s or drums in 5s. God forbid I want lunch just for me. There are a few independent places I’ll hit up before I’ll do Bonchon, just for that reason alone.
That sounds about right. That is their smallest version. Yeah, I have been to a couple of Korean Fried Chicken places, and Pelicana has even larger portion (for their smallest version).
The business model appears to be selling only food supplies with instructions, not the prevalent franchise system. Thinking about it, it makes sense for gas stations that already have a bit of spare real estate. Sharp reasoning.
I’m going to have to check that out!
