Sunday, February 3, 2013

Flip'n Chicken: 2/1/13

For my next stop in my chicken tender quest, I decided to try out Flip'n Chicken. Alex and I were going to try it out when he visited, but at the last minute we decided on Tenders instead. So for my meal to Flip'n Chicken I went with Madison after work on Friday night. Flip'n Chicken is a very small restaurant located in the Carmel Commons shopping center and it is very hard to find the restaurant unless you are looking specifically for it (it's next to Fresh Market if you were wondering).

 See how small the restaurant is?

One of the things I immediately liked about the restaurant was that it is a relaxed dining establishment, so it was a perfect after work spot. After looking at the menu, I saw direct comparisons to Buffalo Wild Wings because it serves both chicken tenders and chicken wings and Flip'n Chicken puts sauces on its chicken (BBQ, Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Parmesan, Honey BBQ, Teriyaki, or mix and match). Now that you have a little background on the place, let's get on to the review. 

Here's the meal!

Batter and crispiness: C+
-I gave the batter and crispiness a C+ because I felt like it was too light and it was not crispy enough. However, I did not count off too much because Madison pointed out that if the batter were any thicker than it would have overpowered the sauce flavor. Also, I wish the sauce was baked in with the batter rather than simply placed on top of the chicken tenders once they were fully cooked.

Tenderness/juiciness of chicken: A+
-This was possibly the juiciest chicken tender meal I have ever had! As soon as I took a bite of the chicken it felt like the juice from the meat exploded in my mouth. Also, the chicken was incredibly juicy! I had no complaints whatsoever about the tenderness/juiciness of the chicken in the tenders. 

Portion size/presentation: B  
-While I thoroughly enjoyed the chicken tenders, I felt as the the portion size could have been bigger. The five strips were kind of small if you ask me, and it is hard to leave enough for leftovers. If you want to take some tenders back with you then I recommend getting a side of fries in addition to the meal. Luckily Madison and I ordered a side of fries or else I would not have been able to have anything left for my reheating section. However, the presentation was very well done because Flip'n Chicken use sectioned plates, so the tenders, breadsticks, and veggies are all separted. A very nice touch for those who do no like for their food to touch on the plate. 

My leftovers :(

Options for side items: B+
-Every time I get chicken tenders I get fries. It's as simple as that. So when I saw that Flip'n Chicken serves breadsticks, carrots, and celery with its chicken tenders, I was initially turned off of the restaurant. However, once our meals arrived I realized I had made an unnecessary snap judgment. The breadsticks were very good and it was a nice change to have the healthy side of veggies with my favorite meal. The breadsticks were like Olive Garden's, but bigger and made with sea salt. My only complaint with the breadsticks was that I wish there were more of them, especially since you do not get french fries unless you order them separately (like we did). When it comes to the french fries, they were nothing special and needed more seasoning. If you are going to Flip'n Chicken you should order french fries with your meal to make sure you have enough food or else you might leave hungry. Even with the price of the fries, the overall cost of your meal is still reasonable. 

Reheating: A-  
-These chicken tenders reheated very well. They were not quite as tender as when I originally had them, but they were still as tender as the chicken tenders at most restaurants are when you first get them. One aspect of the meal that improved with the reheating was the flavor of the tenders. When I first had the chicken tenders the sauce was very light and surface level, but after marinating for 24 hours, the sauce flavor had sunk into the actual kitchen which left the chicken tenders more flavorful.

Description on menu: 
-5 Strip Combo...Five strips flipped in sauce, 2 breadsticks, veggies, ranch or blue cheese dip + a 24 oz soft drink. $7.99

Side item:  
Flip'n Chicken actually serves their meal differently than any other place where I've gotten chicken tenders...each meal is served with breadsticks, carrots, celery. Now this may sound strange (I thought it did as well), but the breadsticks complemented the chicken tenders very well and they were quite tasty. The breadsticks were similar to one's you can get at Olive Garden, but they were bigger (each one was the size of two Olive Garden breadsticks) and were coated in butter and rubbed with sea salt. Take it from me...they are amazing!
  
Overall I would give Flip'n Chicken's chicken tenders an A-. I liked how you could add different sauces to them so each visit could be like you were trying the tenders for the first time. Also, I enjoyed the breadsticks for multiple reasons. One, it's a different side item than you usually get with chicken tenders and secondly, I love breaksticks! But this blog is about the chicken...so back to them. These truly were some fantastic chicken tenders. I would have given them a higher grade if the batter were better and the tenders themselves were more substantial, but other than I have no other complaints. I will definitely be back to Flip'n Chicken for some chicken tenders...in fact. Madison and I picked up chicken tenders on Sunday for the Superbowl. I got the Garlic Parmesan ones again with extra garlic because they were just so delicious on Friday night. So if you want some great chicken tenders for a great price, I would recommend Flip'n Chicken with no reservations. 

Take my advice...order an additional side of fries or else you might leave hungry.

Well now it's time to get back to the Superbowl. 

LB 

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