chicken strips – Michael Eats

Sweet Heat Honey Garlic Chicken Strips from Wendy’s

Published on March 25, 2026March 25, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 44 Britannia Road East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.wendys.com/en-ca

This is going to sound like an insane thing to say about a fast food item that has the words “sweet” and “honey” in its name, but the Sweet Heat Honey Garlic Chicken Strips from Wendy’s? Too sweet.

Yeah, that’s right — I said it.

Here’s how Wendy’s describes them: “100% Canadian, white-meat chicken strips flipped & dipped in a honey garlic sauce with ranch dip. Perfectly sweet with just a touch of heat. Like a good date.”

I should note that I quite enjoyed these things, despite their intense sweetness. As advertised, they’re sweet and garlicky, with just a little bit of spice — it’s enough that you’ll know it’s there, but it’s not exactly going to put any sweat on your brow. They also have a nice tanginess that theoretically should round out the sweetness, but really, nothing can put a dent in how sweet these things are. It’s intense.

They actually reminded me a lot of something you might find at Manchu Wok or Panda Express, like General Tso’s chicken or something along those lines. It seems like the type of thing you should be eating with rice (which would do a nice job of mellowing out its flavour).

They come with ranch on the side; this adds a nice creaminess, but its flavour is mostly obliterated by the intense sweet tanginess of the sauce.

As for the chicken strips themselves, I got lucky with a well-prepared batch — the chicken was nice and fresh and not dry at all. It was sauced to order, which meant that the exterior kept its crunch despite being absolutely doused in the sweet, sticky sauce. Despite my reservations about how sugary these things are, I still quite enjoyed eating them.

Chicken Tenders at Chica’s Chicken

Published on March 1, 2026March 1, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2853 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.chicaschicken.net/

My policy on this blog — in the last few years, at least — is to avoid negativity. If I think a place is just okay, I’ll generally write a quick review and not dwell on it, and if I think it’s bad, I won’t write about it at all. It’s tough enough to succeed in the restaurant business as it is, and whatever extremely mild (almost non-existent) level of influence that I have, I’d rather not use it against a local business that’s just trying to survive.

I do make an exception for big fast food chains, however — I think they can take it. And Chica’s, with its four locations, Michelin designation, and plans for growth (there’s a section on their website where they say that they’re “seeking passionate franchise partners”), is entering big chain territory.

That being the case, I can note that the chicken tenders at Chica’s really bummed me out. This is a place that I once said served some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had, and this was… not that. I’ve noticed that Chica’s has been going downhill since they started their expansion a few years ago, but this was the first thing I’ve had here that was outright bad.

The chicken was just so, so dry, despite being served hot and fresh. White meat is always going to be a bit on the dry side, but this was something else. It comes with some tasty dipping sauce on the side (which kinda tastes like coleslaw dressing, but in a pleasant way), and you’d better believe I used all of that sauce.

As for the exterior, it was more leathery than crunchy — I legitimately had a hard time biting through it.

I ordered this hot AF, and while it had a solid level of heat, it tasted like something was missing (salt, mostly, but overall the flavour just wasn’t there).

I recently had a fried chicken sandwich from KFC, and the chicken in that sandwich was better than this on every level — it was tastier, crunchier, and juicier. From KFC! Over a place that used to serve the best fried chicken in the city. What a world.

Lay’s Bar-B-Q Tenders at KFC

Published on October 9, 2019October 17, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3015 Winston Churchill Boulevard, Mississauga
Website: https://www.kfc.ca/

Coating a piece of fried chicken in flavoured potato chips is pretty bizarre; it’s also obvious enough that I’m surprised KFC or some other fast food chain hasn’t done it sooner. This is particularly odd in a post Doritos Locos world, where mashing up two seemingly disparate but complementary flavours has revealed itself to be a gold mine.

Anyway, KFC has finally done it, and yeah, it’s good.

The Lay’s Bar-B-Q Tenders, according to KFC: “Canadian farm raised chicken tenders coated in Lay’s sweet and smoky Bar-B-Q potato chips”.

The flavour is pleasingly familiar, with a nice balance of sweetness and tanginess; if you’ve had Lay’s BBQ chips, then it tastes as you’d expect. The whole thing is exactly what you think (and hope) it’s going to be.

I will say, however, that these taste like they were made with plain chips and then seasoned post-fry. This is mostly not an issue, aside from the fact that the seasoning is a bit uneven.

Still, it’s a good quality chicken strip; the BBQ flavour complements it well, and the chip pieces add a nice crunch. It’s one of those things that sounds weird on paper, but mostly just tastes pretty good (i.e. it’s not a Double Down, which is a fun gimmick until you actually eat it).

This is entirely down to the luck of the draw, but my order was hot and fresh, which definitely helped. The chicken could have been a bit more tender, but for white meat, it’s not bad.

Chicken Strips at the Burger’s Priest

Published on May 3, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1599 The Queensway, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.theburgerspriest.com/

I love Buffalo sauce. I know there are some people who find it too vinegary, and I totally get that, but me? If you toss something in Buffalo sauce, I’m going to eat it. It doesn’t matter what it is.

The Burger’s Priest recently introduced chicken strips to their menu; you can get them plain or tossed. Obviously I went with tossed.

They’re quite good. The exterior has a good amount of crunch, and the chicken inside is nice and tender.

And I don’t need to tell you that good-quality fried chicken is delicious when you toss it in Buffalo sauce. That just goes without saying.

It comes with a side of ranch, as well as your choice between BBQ sauce and something called G14. I got the G14, and man, whatever that was, it was crazy delicious. It was tangy, a little bit spicy, and seriously addictive. Easily one of the best dipping sauces I’ve had in a while.

I should note that there are some consistency issues. Two of my chicken strips were as described: crispy, tender, delicious. The third was somehow simultaneously overcooked and undercooked. The chicken was completely dry, and yet the batter was doughy and underdone in parts. You can kind of see what I’m talking about with the batter in the picture below.

With all of the Buffalo sauce and the dipping sauce it wasn’t a huge issue, but it was an issue nonetheless.