Fox and Hound: 4/17/13

Ok, this post is so late and I really have no excuse for it…I’ll have to do better.

Anyways, for my next post I went to Fox and Hound with some of my coworkers during our lunch hour. Two of my coworkers said the chicken tenders here were “the best,” so of course I had to check them out.

The outside of the menu for Fox and Hound.

Batter and crispiness: A+
-These chicken tenders were very crispy and flavorful. The batter was on the light side, but it combined with the actual meat perfectly and did not overpower it. The seasonings used in the batter (and it tasted like the chefs season the chicken as well) was fantastic as well.

Tenderness/juiciness of chicken: A+
-The meat of this chicken was fantastic! You can tell that they use great cuts of meat because there was not a chewy bite in any of my chicken tenders. While the chicken was not as juicy as other places (I don’t think anyone will top the juiciness of Flip’n Chicken), it was very juicy and very tender. The combination of these characteristics is what gave this category an A+.

Portion size/presentation: B+/A-
-Considering that this was a lunch portion, I thought the amount of food I got was reasonable. In the meal they give you between 3 and 4 handfuls of French fries and then 4 good sized chicken tenders. Not bad for $7.99, but I hope the dinner portion has at least 1 or 2 more tenders.

Side: A
-The french fries were very crispy, cut nice and big (just how I like them) and you could tell they use actual potatoes for them. Overall, they were very tasty. Also as a note, the ranch was excellent!

Reheating: A-
-The fries were soggy, but they still tasted good (not surprisingly). However, the surprise can with the tenders. While they were no longer crispy (again, not surprisingly) the flavor was slightly different than it was originally and I had to give it to Fox and Hound for that. Also, the chicken meat was very tender, which I am always pleasantly surprised about when it happens.

Description:
-Beer-battered chicken tenders – Hand-battered chicken tenders covered in a delicious Newcastle Brown Ale beer batter then perfectly cooked. Served with fries and your choice of honey mustard or BBQ sauce (as always, I got ranch instead). $7.99

My wonderful lunch, I enjoyed the "newspaper" used for plating. Don't worry, it like wax coated newspaper.

Overall I think Fox and Hound had the best chicken tenders I’ve tried since I started this blog and I would give the chicken tenders an A/A+. The breading was excellent, the meat was tender, the portion size was great for the price, I loved the fries, and I got the bonus of having a different flavor when I reheated! I can’t think of anything negative about this meal and I will definitely go back to Fox and Hound for their chicken tenders.

Until next time!

LB

Lucky Lou's: 4/13/13

Hello again,

For this week's chicken tender blog entry I decided to try a local bar that I have never been to called Lucky Lou's on Park Road. Madison and I went there around 3:30 for a late lunch/early dinner after I went to Lem's Cardio Jam class. We chose this place because neither of us had been there before and I had a coupon in this book I got for Christmas! However, the coupon was a buy one entree, get one free deal and the chicken tenders were listed as an appetizer, so we decided to each get an entree and then get the tenders to go but try one and some french fries before we left (the waitress said the tenders would count as an entree, but we thought we might as well try some entrees since neither of us had been to Lucky Lou's). 

Batter and crispiness: A
-The chicken tenders were very crispy and the batter was excellent. It was lightly breaded and a crisp golden brown. While I enjoyed the taste of the batter (the pepper seasoning was fantastic), I felt like it could have used a little more salt. Overall though, the batter and crispiness was some of the best I have had.

Tenderness/juiciness of the chicken: C+
-This was a hard category to complete because the chicken in the tenders was very juicy, but it was also very tough. If I were solely scoring this section based on tenderness I would have given it an A, but then again, if I were solely scoring this section on the juiciness of the chicken, I would have given it a D. That is how I ended up with a score of a C+ because it seemed fair when taking both aspects into account.

Portion size/presentation: A-
-The portion size of this meal was pretty good, especially for the price. With the order you get 4 tenders and enough fries for about 3 individual meals. I was very satisfied with the amount of food for the price.

Reheating: D-
-I should not have saved this meal to reheat because it was not a pleasant lunch. First off, the french fries were soggy and did not have the same appeal as they did upon first taste. Secondly, the meat in the tenders was even tougher than it was originally and it was not crispy at all. The only saving grace of that the fries still had some of the original flavor to them, so the actual taste of the fries was still good...just not the consistency of them.

Side item: A+
-The french fries were fantastic! They were the perfect amount of seasoning and were very crispy and fresh. I have no critiques on this aspect of the meal.

Description on menu:
-Chicken Tenders - Four breaded tenders served with your choice of dipping sauce. Side of Fries of Homemade Chips. $8

My chicken tenders and fries to go. You can only see 3, but there are 4 tenders.

Overall I was pleased with my meal at Lucky Lou's, I would give the experience a B-, and I would definitely go back...just probably not for the chicken tenders. The actual meal that I had there (fish and chips) was excellent, and Madison enjoyed his pizza. But referencing the chicken tenders I would have to give them a B- because the meat in the tenders was very juicy, but  tough and the portion size was adequate for the price.

That's all for me!

LB

Burger King: 3/31/13

Hello fellow bloggers!

Sorry for the long time between posts again, but work has been really busy. Anyways, here's the post!

For this week's post Madison and I went to Burger King for my chicken tender blog. The reasoning behind this decision was it was close to my apartment and it continued with the fast food chicken tender them of the previous post.

My chicken tender meal from Burger King.

Batter and crispiness: A
-I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the batter and crispiness of Burger King's chicken tenders. The batter was light, but substantial enough to taste and the seasoning was very flavorful. Also, the tenders were quite crispy, especially for fast food chicken tenders.

Tenderness/juiciness of the chicken: B
-The meat in the tenders was surprisingly tender and I liked how Burger King uses decent cuts of chicken for their tenders. The reason this section received a B was because the chicken was of average juiciness.

Portion size/presentation: C
-While I did not pay a lot for this meal, I was disappointed in the price. As you can tell from the picture above, the portion size was rather small (especially considering I ordered a medium fry with my chicken tender combo). When I measured out my "medium" fry, I realized that I only had received about 2 handfuls of fries to accompany my 5 small chicken tenders.

Reheating: D
-Nothing about this meal reheated well. The meat of the tenders was hard and the actual tenders were tasteless while the fries were soggy. The only positive was that the tenders did manage to maintain some crispiness.

Side item: B
-The french fries were seasoned well with just salt (and not too much I might add) and they were very crunchy, which is always a plus for my french fries.

Description on menu:
-Made with premium white meat chicken, our three-piece and five-piece Chicken Strips are marinated and generously battered in seasoned home-style breading. $5.99 for 5 piece meal
 
Overall I give the chicken tenders at Burger King a C+. I really enjoyed the batter, but the tenders reheated poorly and the portion size did not match the price point. However, I was satisfied after my original dinner of the tenders, so I feel as though a C+ is an adequate grade.

Until next time!

LB