13 Epic Chicken Chains in the US You’ll Regret Not Visiting
I'm a fan of homemade chicken foods. My Instagram saved section is filled with international chicken recipes that I'm drooling to make in the comfort of my kitchen.
If I could, I would grill chicken in my backyard while sitting in my patio chair and blasting Caribbean music all day. However, the hustle and bustle of American life makes cooking every day impossible.
Some days, I mix all sorts of spices while watching “How to Grill Fried Chicken like Colonel Sanders” videos on YouTube. On other days, I'm in a Chinese restaurant dissecting Kung Pao chicken on a Saturday afternoon.
Based on personal preferences and expert reviews, here are the thirteen chicken restaurant chains I highly recommend when you're not cooking at home.
Popeyes
Do you crave some crispy chicken with flaky clumps of fried batter? Popeyes chicken is your best bet.
Popeyes fried chicken has a characteristic mild and spicy flavor. Its signature golden brown color, flavor, and tender texture are consistent in all the chicken parts, whether the wing, thigh, breast, or leg. Their offerings can be accompanied by all shades of Cajun, namely Cajun fries, Cajun rice, macaroni, cheese, Cajun mashed and potatoes.
The American multinational food chain ventured into chicken sandwiches in 2019. All their chicken offerings owe their pleasant flavor and juicy taste to the Louisiana spices used in marinating the fried chicken sections.
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A markets itself as the home of the original chicken sandwich. They've been making sandwiches since Popeyes caught up with the trend in 2019. The Chick-fil-A sandwich contains deep-fried chicken, two pickles, and a toasted bun. Side dishes like cheese, lettuce, tomato, and other condiments are also available.
Chick-fil-A sandwiches have a tangy, vinegary flavor. Rumor has it that the flavor is proof of the presence of pickle juice in the original secret sauce, but food experts have debunked this rumor.
Compared to the McDonald's sandwich, Chick-fil-A sandwiches are fluffier and less greasy. The latter is also crunchier and bigger than the former. Chick-fil-A switched from No Antibiotics Ever (NEA) to No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM) to maintain its chicken quality.
If you like chicken sandwiches, I recommend visiting a Chick-fil-A restaurant. They specialize in them.
KFC
KFC, also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is prominent for its recipe, which, according to Colonel Harland Sanders, consists of 11 herbs and spices. The only verified components of the sauce are salt and pepper. I love KFC fried chicken because it has a fresh, spicy taste.
KFC prides itself on serving fresh chicken. To maintain its no-stale-chicken reputation, it discards fried chickens that do not reach customers within 90 minutes.
KFC's pressure-fried chicken is double hand-breaded. Each product has two servings, but if you order the family-size bucket, you will get 16 chicken pieces. The number of servings per bucket of KFC chicken can vary depending on the location. The original number of chicken servings is nine, which aligns with the Harland Sanders standard.
Wingstop
I have always wondered why a company would focus on chicken wings, since wings aren't the meatiest parts of the chicken. But some people prefer wings thanks to their white meat, which has lean protein and helps build muscles.
Wingstop offers buffalo wings. Buffalo wings are unbreaded deep-fried wings that are usually dipped in hot sauce. While KFC's golden brown buffalo wings are crispy, meaty, and plump, their version of buffalo wings is salty (in a good way) and savory.
Buffalo wings turn red when dipped in hot sauce. From the first bite, you can tell that they are well-cooked. Their spicy taste is consistent throughout the meal.
Wingstop does not freeze their chicken wings. They stick with fresh wings.
Bojangles
Many consider Popeyes Sandwich the gold standard of chicken sandwiches, but the Bojangles sandwich is next in line.
Bojangles chicken is juicy inside and crunchy outside. Its golden brown crunchy coating is tempting. Without dipping it in hot sauce, the chicken sandwich might seem under-seasoned. However, its bold taste and satisfying size make it worth the effort.
Like Wingstop, Bojangles never freezes its chicken. Their sandwich contains two buttered bun caps, juicy chicken, and two pickles. Although Bojangles is not as big as Popeyes, it has a cult following in North Carolina.
Buffalo's Wild Wings
Buffalo's Wild Wings has one of the best buffalo wings in the US. They offer a variety of sauces, namely the Honey BBQ sauce, Caribbean Jerk, Manso Herbano, Parmesan Garlic, and many more. Their food offerings include tenders, legs, burgers, and side dishes.
One unique thing about Buffalo's Wild Wing restaurant is the way it is designed to accommodate an open layout around the bar area, making it feel more like a sports stadium. Newer food chains like Wingstop and Applebee's have copied their style.
You can order traditional bone-in wings or boneless wings. The wings are not breaded; instead, they are smothered in greasy sauce. Some customers enjoy the messiness, while others don't. Aside from the greasy part, Buffalo's wild wings are crunchy, flavorful, and tasty. They are not extremely spicy, as one would expect, but they are pretty mouthwatering.
Bonchon
If you love sweet and savory Korean fried chicken, the Bonchon Chicken restaurant is for you. Bonchon fried chicken has a flaky coating and a very tender inside. It can be served with soy garlic or hot and spicy sauce. They also offer grilled chicken.
They give customers a mini metallic bucket to drop chicken bone waste and napkins to clean up.
Bonchon has about 114 stores in the United States and their customer service is superb.
Jollibee
Jollibee offers Philippine-style fried chicken. Their product comes with two chicken cuts: a drumstick and a buttery feel. It is flavorful but not extremely spicy, and a tasty and buttery feel accompanies every bite. The already-juicy chicken breast becomes even juicier when dipped in the gravy.
They also sell side dishes like Jolly Spaghetti, mashed potato, adobo rice, pineapple quencher, and peach-mango pie.
Gus's World Record Fried Chicken
Is Gus's chicken worth dying for, as claimed in their ads? Their fried chicken makes a case for itself on the first bite. It is delicious, moist, and buttered.
Gus's dark meat chicken is juicy and tender. Its flaky coating welcomes your teeth while the soft inside embraces your tongue. The seasoning is spicy but not overwhelming. They offer the spicy Gus's golden brown pieces, the dark meat chicken, and side dishes like baked beans, fried okra, French fries, etc.
As their ad indicates, Gus's fried chicken is not worth dying for but worth every dollar spent.
Church's Texas Chicken
Church's Texas chicken has a flaky build with a not-so-noticeable butter grease. The restaurant offers sides like spicy rice, mashed potatoes, and okra. The biscuit and honey butter combo is my favorite part of the Church's chicken. They offer various chicken products such as boneless wings, chicken tenders, and spicy chicken.
The American food restaurant is not affiliated with any Christian church. It was named after George W. Church, a retired chicken incubator Salesman. The first restaurant was established in 1952.
El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco restaurants sell Mexican-style grilled chicken marinated in a citrus-flavored spice blend. Their fried chicken has a crispy coating, and its inside is tasty, juicy, and tender.
Mexican side dishes like burritos, tacos, tortilla chips, mashed potatoes, guacamole, and pico de gallo are also available at El Pollo Loco restaurants. This chicken restaurant is not for you if you are on a low-sodium diet.
Zaxby's
Zaxby's offers all things chicken, such as wings, tenders, fingers, sandwiches, and salads. Zaxby's Club Chicken sandwich is pricier than the sandwiches from other restaurants. It costs $6.7 to $11.29. They have the classic version and the spicy version. Some people prefer their hot sauce sparingly spicy, so Zaxby's provides different hot sauces with varying degrees of spiciness. Zaxby's dipping sauces include Teriyaki, Zax, nuclear, and BBQ sauce.
Side dishes like salads, fried pickles, French fries, and egg rolls are available at Zaxby's.
Pollo Campero
Pollo Campero is a Guatemalan fast-food restaurant that opened in the United States because of the rising demand fueled by Guatemalans in America. Before Pollo Campero was introduced into the American community, Guatemalans and Salvadorians returning home would bring boxes of Pollo Campero chicken on planes. Establishing the company in the US did not stop the practice, as some people believe the sauce is different in the US and Guatemala.
If you are not a fan of peppery chicken, the Pollo Campero chicken is not for you. It is also flavorful and juicy.
