LongHorn Steakhouse: 7/10/13

Before Wednesday, July 10th I had not been to LongHorn Steakhouse in at least 4 years. I am not a huge steak fan, but when I am in the mood we usually cook out at my mom’s house or we go to Outback Steakhouse, so I really did not know what to expect from LongHorn. The reason I went again is because I decided that I want to get involved with the Animal Adoption League (a local animal foster/adoption program) in Charlotte and this is the location of their monthly meeting. I heard about the Animal Adoption League shortly after I moved into my apartment and I actually adopted my cat Fritz from the center back in October. So I was very excited to give back to such a great organization and do something new…I love trying new things

Here is the logo for LongHorn Steakhouse

Batter and crispiness: A+
-The seasoning on these tenders was excellent. The batter was light, fluffy, and crispy all at the same time. I wish all chicken tenders could be seasoned this well.

Tenderness and juiciness: A
-Not only was I very impressed with the batter of the tenders, but I was also impressed with the quality of the chicken used in them. The chicken was very tender (no toughness whatsoever) and it was quite juicy.

Portion Size/Presentation: B-
-In my opinion this meal was a little on the pricy side for chicken tenders, but it was a decent value for the amount of food that you got. For $13.95 you get 8 chicken tenders, 6-8 handfuls of fries, and another side of your choosing (I chose soup for an upgrade of $2.49). This meal was very filling and I definitely could not eat it in one sitting.

Reheating: B
-The meal reheated fairly well. The tenders were still slightly crispy and the fries were not soggy. It tasted pretty close to the original meal except that the chicken meat was tougher and the batter fell off the tenders.

Side: C
-The fries were big and crispy, but they had little to no seasoning. They kind of reminded me of the frozen fries you buy at the grocery store.

Description:
-Fresh chicken tenders - Hand-battered fresh chicken tenders. Served with Honey Mustard and 2 sides. $13.95

Here is my meal! Sorry it is kinda dark.

Overall I would give the chicken tenders at LongHorn Steakhouse a B-/B. The batter was done really well as was the chicken. The downsides the sides, the price of the meal, and the reheating aspect. While none of these categories were horrible, they definitely brought down the overall score of the meal. However, I was impressed with the meal as a whole considering the restaurant is a steakhouse, so I have to give it props and I would come back for their chicken tenders...just not very often considering the price.

Leroy Fox: 7/4/13

For July 4th Madison and I decided to go to Leroy Fox’s for lunch and have some good ole American food to celebrate the holiday. As soon as I stepped into Leroy Fox I knew I would like the place. The atmosphere was laid back with a classic modern bar feel, it was also very clean. I especially liked the exposed brick walls, high quality big screen TVs, and the dark wood floors and tables. Also worth mentioning, the bar was very well set-up and one feature I thought was very unique is that the waiting area had a wall of different street signs in Charlotte. Before I even tried the food I had high expectations for this restaurant.

I think the outside of Leroy Fox looks really cool. 

Batter and crispiness: B
-This category was slightly disappointing because I had very high expectations for these tenders. They were very crispy, but the flavor was very subtle and it took me 2 tenders until I could actually taste it. However, when I dipped the tenders in the ranch (which is excellent btw) it was fantastic! I am pretty sure that they make the ranch in house.

Tenderness and juiciness: B
-The reason I gave this category was because the chicken tenders were very juicy (you could see the juice), but the chicken was almost chewy in some parts. However, the slight chewiness did not affect the category too severely because overall the tenders were cooked very well.

Portion Size/Presentation: B+/A-
-There is always one in every bunch…or in this case, every blog post. This was the category that gave me trouble grading this week. On the one hand, I think the size deserves a B+ because Leroy Fox gives you a good number of chicken tenders (5) but they are on the small side. However, they give you A TON of fries, so I feel like the category should receive an A- because of that. So taking both of those factors into account I decided to revert to my B+/A- grade because it is only fair considering this blog focuses on chicken tenders and not the side items.

Reheating: A-
-I gave this category an A- because this meal reheated really well. The fries tasted about the same as when I first had them (just a little less crispy) and the chicken tenders actually tasted better! My only complaint is that I wish the tenders themselves were bigger because my reheated portion (with 3 tenders) was more like a snack than a second meal.

Side: A+
-For my sides I had the mac & cheese and the fries and let me tell you, these were the best sides I have had in a long time. The fries were very crispy, hand-cut, and had lots of Cajun seasoning on them so they were very flavorful but not hot. Then the macaroni & cheese…it was AMAZING! It was the perfect combination of being light, very creamy yet crunchy at the same time, and it had the perfect amount of sweetness with a little ground pepper on top. Now, I am kind of biased because I make a pretty great mac & cheese (if I do say so myself…trust me, other people have said it is delicious as well), but this had to be the best restaurant mac & cheese that I have ever had. It tasted as like it were made with actual grated cheese instead of the highly processed cheese and I did not have any complaints about it.

Description:
-The Elizabeth $12 – Hot and juicy barreled chicken tenderloins are breaded and deep fried then served with honey mustard and ranch over a bed of shoestring fries.

Here is my delicious lunch!

Overall I would give the chicken tenders at Leroy Fox a B. The potion size was pretty good for the price, I just wish I got more tenders and a few less fries. Also, the sides were absolutely amazing (I would have given them an A++ if I could). Oh and Leroy Fox gets points for the décor of the restaurant because I really enjoyed that. The only negatives of the meal were the batter, which lacked any substantial flavor and the tenderness of the chicken…parts of it were tough. Regardless, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives and I will definitely be back for these tenders…and a side of mac & cheese (it is the best I have ever had at a restaurant…and that is saying something because I love a good mac & cheese). One more thing…if you are like me and like ranch with your chicken tenders then definitely get the ranch at Leroy Fox. It is delicious!

I just wanted to show y'all the wall of street signs.

Until next time,

LB

Church's Chicken: 6/29/13

Hello again,

This week I went, Madison rode with me, to Church’s Chicken. I have passed by Church’s Chicken many times and I have always wanted to try the food there, so I figured why not make this restaurant the next entry for my chicken tender blog! The reason I chose to go to Church’s Chicken was because I was not too hungry at the time (it was after 2pm) and we were meeting friends for dinner a few hours later, so I did not want to have a big lunch anyways. 

 

 Here is the logo for Church's Chicken.

Batter and crispiness: A

-I really enjoyed the batter on the chicken tenders from Church’s Chicken. It was very crunchy and very flavorful. Overall I think Church’s does a fantastic job with the actual taste and texture of the batter, but the ratio of batter to chicken is disproportionate so much that you cannot taste the chicken in some bites.

Tenderness and juiciness of the chicken:  B

-Continuing with what I said in the previous statement, there is a lot of batter on these chicken tenders. In fact, there is so much batter that I had a hard time scoring this section.

Every time I took I bite I tried to focus on the texture of the chicken, but I could not decide on a grade until after I ate almost two chicken tenders. However, I concluded that the chicken is tender, the tips of the tenders and juicy, the middle is on the dry side.

Portion size/presentation: C-

-I was very disappointed in the size of this meal. When I first drove up and saw the prices on the menu I almost left because it seemed a little unreasonable, but I decided to order because I had already driven 20 minutes to go to Church’s…originally I did not realize it was that far away. Now, while $7.99 does not seem like a for a fast food meal, it was not warranted in this case. My meal consisted of 4 extremely thin tenders (on one of them there was a thicker middle portion), a small fry (it had about a handful of fries), and a regularly sized biscuit. Good thing I ate this meal only a few hours before I ate a big dinner or I would have been very hungry.

Description:

-Delicious all white meat chicken tenders available in spicy or original. Choose your favorite dipping sauce and you’re good to go. The four chicken tender meal comes with fries, a biscuit, and a drink for $7.99.

Side: C-

-As I said before, with this meal I got a biscuit and a small fry as my side items. When it comes to the biscuit I thought it was very tasty. The biscuit was the perfect mix of fluffiness and crunchiness, however I was not a big fan of the honey butter on top. Overall I liked the biscuit, but the same cannot be said for the fries. The fries were slightly soggy and lacked any seasoning. If I go back to Church’s Chicken then I will definitely get a different side.

Reheating: D+

-Not surprisingly, this meal did not reheat well. The tenders lacked any flavor, were chewy, and not crunchy at all…I actually had to throw away big chucks of the tenders because I could not bite through them. Also, the fries were almost inedible and there was a lot of grease when I finished eating. The one bright spot of the meal was the biscuit, which I think improved during reheating. Gone was the honey butter taste that I disliked while the fluffiness and crunchiness stayed. Originally I was going to give this section a D, but the biscuit bumped my grade up to a D+ because I was left hungry after eating the meal. Luckily, I ate a late lunch, so it was able to sustain me until dinner.

 

Here is my meal...see what I mean when I say it was small?

Overall I would give my chicken tender meal at Church’s Chicken a C. The actual tenders were good (even though they were small), the chicken was cooked fairly well (for a fast food restaurant), and the biscuit was delicious (even though I did not like the honey butter). My main complaints with the meal were the small portion size for the price, the disappointing fries, and the fact that the meal did not reheat well. I am not sure if I would choose to go back to Church’s Chicken, but I would go again if someone had a craving for it. In conclusion, it was not one of my favorite fast food restaurants, but it was not a bad enough experience that I would never eat there again. In my opinion there are just so many other places where you can get better chicken tenders for the same price or a little bit more.