fried chicken – Page 10

Satisfying Fried Chicken at Burger Legend

Published on March 18, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1086 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://burgerlegend.ca/

Burger Legend recently opened a new location in Etobicoke; I tried the burger at their original Streetsville location a few years ago, and thought it was pretty solid.

I had the fried chicken sandwich this time, which they serve in various styles (Buffalo, Nashville, Cajun, etc.). I ordered the Nashville hot chicken, and it was pretty tasty.

It’s very hard to go wrong with a crispy, freshly-fried piece of fried chicken, and yeah, it was quite good. The white meat was a bit on the dry side and the chicken itself was underseasoned, but it was otherwise a solid fried chicken sandwich.

It is, as you’d hope from Nashville hot chicken, pretty spicy. It’s not going to blow your face off, but the spice level is noticeable. It’s topped with coleslaw and something they call “Bawss sauce,” and both are quite tasty and complement the chicken well. They also do a pretty good job of bringing the chicken some much-needed flavour.

The nicely toasted bun is soft, fresh, and holds up nicely to the substantial piece of chicken. It’s not a sandwich that’s going to rock anyone’s world, but it’s thoroughly tasty.

Unique Fried Chicken at Rick’s Good Eats

Published on December 23, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 6660 Kennedy Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.ricksgoodeats.ca/

Tucked away in an industrial area of Mississauga, Rick’s Good Eats is a delightful hidden gem serving tasty Indian fusion dishes. I had the burger there a few years ago and quite enjoyed it, and I just tried the fried chicken sandwich and liked it even better.

Rick’s Fried Chicken Sandwich, as per the menu: “Battered, double-fried Tandoori Chicken dressed with signature Ting Tang sauce, Achari Mayo, lettuce, chopped tomato and onion, pickles and cilantro.”

The woman behind the counter also asked if I wanted to add bacon, and of course I said yes. I’m not gonna say no to bacon; what am I, a maniac?

(Though as it turns out I safely could have said no to the bacon — there are so many bold flavours and textures here that the bacon is pretty much completely lost.)

It’s a phenomenal fried chicken sandwich. In particular, the idea of crossing tandoori chicken and fried chicken is actually kind of genius. The very tender chicken has a pronounced marinated tandoori flavour and an intensely satisfying exterior crunch. It’s very, very good.

Everything else is just as good, with a great contrast between the zippy Ting Tang sauce and the creamy mayo, additional crunch and freshness from the veggies, and a fluffy bun that does a good job of holding it all together. It’s easily one of the better fried chicken sandwiches I’ve had in a while.

Festive Chicken Sandwich from KFC

Published on November 22, 2023April 13, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3401 Dufferin Street, North York (inside Yorkdale)
Website: https://www.kfc.ca/

The Festive Chicken Sandwich at KFC is one of those things you pretty much have to try. Or maybe that’s just me? Maybe normal people don’t feel an odd compulsion to try every weird new thing from a fast food joint? Who can say!

The KFC website describes the Festive Chicken Sandwich as “buttermilk marinated chicken fillet and savory stuffing, drizzled with buttery garlic oil, plant-based mayo and cranberry sauce.”

It’s an amazing idea in theory, though in execution, it’s just okay. The main problem is that the fried chicken and the stuffing are both so salty that the whole thing adds up to a pretty serious salt bomb.

I’ve never particularly thought about how much KFC’s fried chicken kinda has the same flavour profile as cheap, store-bought stuffing — but once you’re eating them at the same time, it’s pretty much all you can notice.

The cranberry sauce is actually pretty essential to offset some of the sandwich’s saltiness and cut through the richness a bit, but there wasn’t that much of it, and there’s only so much it can do.

As for the “buttery garlic oil,” if it was there, it was completely overwhelmed by the chicken and the stuffing. I couldn’t taste it.

Otherwise, the sandwich was fine. The chicken itself was pretty dry and had obviously been sitting out a bit, and the overall flavour is very one-note salty. But it’s not unpleasant to eat, I guess.

Quick Bites: Chica’s Chicken, SumiLicious, Honey’s

Published on November 1, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

The O.G. Sandwich from Chica’s Chicken

The Nashville hot chicken sandwich at Chica’s is very different than it used to be. I should note that it’s still juicy, crispy, and abundantly flavourful. It’s easily one of the best fried chicken sandwiches in the city. But it used to be among the best fried chicken I’ve ever had, and it’s not quite there at the moment. It’s also noticeably smaller than it used to be — I’m going to guess that it’s about one third of the size? If you look at a photo of what it used to look like, and then compare it to the photo above, the difference is stark. Chica’s used to sell a smaller sandwich called the “Small Fry,” which they clearly got rid of because it is not possible to sell a sandwich smaller than what they’re currently serving. I also ordered it at the max level of heat, “hot AF,” and while it was quite spicy, it’s not at the blow-your-head-off level of heat that it used to be. Still! I need to reiterate that it’s very, very good. A step down from the best fried chicken I’ve ever had is still pretty damn good.

Smoked meat sandwich at SumiLicious

I haven’t been back to SumiLicious since it opened in 2018; it’s since been recognized by no less than the Michelin guide, and I was curious to see how it’s held up. Well, it was glorious then, and it’s just as glorious now. I mean, just look at the photo. Look at it. It’s easily the best smoked meat in the city. I actually had Schwartz’s in Montreal relatively recently, and while I think that place is still the king (the spicing there is a bit more satisfying), SumiLicious is pretty close.

Chocolate matzo toffee crunch ice cream from Honey’s

I’ve written about Honey’s before, and how shocked I was that a place that serves entirely vegan scoops of ice cream could be so thoroughly delicious. Well, it’s still mystifyingly good. Seriously, how can vegan ice cream be this creamy?? I will say that the more you eat it, the more you notice the absence of the expected dairy/creamy flavour, but aside from that, the texture and flavour is dead on. I’m pretty positive that if you went out and did a blind taste test, 99 percent of people would have no idea that what they’re serving here is vegan. As for this particular flavour, it was quite good — the matzo has a mild crunch from the toffee, and a nice restrained sweetness that works very well with the chocolate.

Tasty Buffalo Chicken at Harry’s Charbroiled

Published on April 20, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 293 Palmerson Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.harryscharbroiled.com/

Though Harry’s is mostly known for their cheeseburger (which I didn’t care for when Grant van Gameren first took over, though it has supposedly improved in the interim), they’ve recently added a fried chicken sandwich to the menu (because are you even a restaurant these days if you don’t serve a fried chicken sandwich?).

The sandwich, which consists of fried chicken tenders rather than one piece of chicken, comes topped with pickles and ranch, and can be optionally tossed in spicy Buffalo sauce, which is what I went with.

It’s a tasty sandwich. The fried exterior has a good amount of crispiness, and while the white meat within is a bit dry, it’s so thoroughly doused in sauce that it barely even matters. This might have literally been one of the sauciest sandwiches I’ve ever had. It was constantly dripping the entire time I ate it.

The bun (a potato bun, I think), was nice and fresh, and held up quite well to the sauce-drenched chicken.

I’m a sucker for the Buffalo/ranch combo, so yeah, I quite enjoyed it. I wish it were spicier — they call it “spicy Buffalo,” but the level of heat here is basically a mild tingle. It’s flavourful enough that this isn’t a huge deal, but I wish they’d give you the option to crank up the spice a bit.

I also tried the fries, which are outstanding. They’re thicker than the norm, which could be trouble (there’s nothing worse than a thickly-cut fry that’s chalky on the inside), but these are perfect: they’re crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.