Best new chicken restaurant

[baller21]

Of the 3 listed I’ve only had SC once and it was ok, nothing great.

I tried Chicken Heat on Army Post the other day and it was way too salty and took at least 20 min. We were the only ones in there around lunch time.

 

[tim_redd]

I had Slim's once shorty after they opened in Ankeny and thought Cane's was better. Maybe I have to give Slim's another try. Ornery Chicken is the place to go in Ankeny tho.

 

[CyCrazy]

Only had Canes out of those 3, not impressed. It was bland as hell.

 

[AuH2O]

Charlotte's Kitchen in Johnston (and soon to be Indianola) may be the best chicken sandwich I've had in Iowa. If you are in the metro it is well worth the visit. Great food, staff and story. https://charlotteskitchendsm.com/

Charlotte's is awesome, and I love their staff. The people that work there are great.

Cane's is great when you compare it to other similar cost fast food.

 

[Dr.bannedman]

have a slims in my city now. will try i guess

 

[AuH2O]

Only had Canes out of those 3, not impressed. It was bland as hell.

You have to like the sauce, and get extra sauce. It is bland. But I still like it. Mainly as a fried vehicle for the sauce.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Canes would easily win, but would it kill them to season their chicken? It's so bland. Brine it or soak it in seasoned buttermilk or add seasoning to the dredge, or something, because even though it's cooked very well, the meat is just bland.

Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible. But it's just so easily remedied that I have to imagine that the owners of the company are doing it on purpose. Maybe they all injured their tongues in a nasty, cheese grating accident some time back, and now they require their food to be super bland.

It's so close to being fantastic.

PDQ has chunks of herbs in their breading. It's a shame PDQ isn't up north.

 

[ABECyguy]

Zaxbys

Paging @werdnamanhill …he has some thoughts on chicken restaurants

I’ve never even heard of slim chickens or PDQ—where are they at? Canes is good, I was disappointed I moved away from the QC right around when one opened in Davenport.

 

[werdnamanhill]

I really really dislike Cane's, mostly because I don't like the Cane's sauce, leaving me with bland chicken because they don't have any other options.

Slim Chickens is pretty good! I've had that in OK before. They have a lot of sauces which I like.

My personal favorites are Bojangles and Zaxby's.

You have to go down south for good chicken places.

 

[cyclones7]

How as nobody said Chick Fil A. Way better than any of those 3 and not even close.

 

[CycloneBob]

I've not been to any of those. Ames is in big need of a good fast food chicken outlet. Personally, I'd like to see Popeye's come to Ames.

 

[Mr Janny]

How as nobody said Chick Fil A. Way better than any of those 3 and not even close.

It's fine.

 

[Acylum]

View attachment 103379

It’s the wood that makes it good.

 

[DollaDollaBill]

Cane's must be better in IA than in KC. I've had it twice here and have zero desire to go back. Slim wins between the two. Strouds is a step above both and it gets a lot of love locally, but Gus's crushes them all.

I'm not sure if it's still there, but there used to be some place in Kingsley that had the best broasted chicken. It was dark and dismal inside, but it added nicely to the shame of gourging yourself on crispy goodness.

You’re probably thinking of the gas lantern in Pierson. It’s still open but I think has new owners. Still delicious though

 

[DeereClone]

I haven't been to the other 2 but I like Canes. Wouldn't say it's earth-shattering, but it's definitely good. Better than Chick-Fil-A IMO.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

How as nobody said Chick Fil A. Way better than any of those 3 and not even close.

You could put a Starbucks and a Chick Fil A on every other block down here and I swear they would all stay busy. They are ok, but I'm not going to wait in a long line for either.

I normally don't eat fast food a lot except during weekends with soccer games/tournaments. Having Chick Fil A closed on one of those days drops them down on my list pretty much immediately.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I don't really consider Zaxby's, Chik Fil A, or Bojangles on the level of the three in the poll. They're straight fast food. The three in the poll make everything fresh.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

You’re probably thinking of the gas lantern in Pierson. It’s still open but I think has new owners. Still delicious though

Yes, that's it! My cousin and I ate a legendary amount of food there one night.

 

[Drew0311]

If you ever go to the southside. Stop and Try Chicken Heat. Pretty solid place. Locally owned. Started as a food truck and got a locatoin on Army post.

 

[cyfan4]

Paging @werdnamanhill …he has some thoughts on chicken restaurants

I’ve never even heard of slim chickens or PDQ—where are they at? Canes is good, I was disappointed I moved away from the QC right around when one opened in Davenport.

Slim's has one store in North Ankeny but there are several more coming. Grimes beginning of next year and Waukee end of next year.