Dave's Hot Chicken

Dave's Hot Chicken wants to be the Cane's of hot chicken--all they do is tenders.  We decided to give them a try and got a couple of combos with some medium and hot tenders with fries, a drink and a milkshake to go.

The chicken is absolutely marvelous.  It is advertised as Halal, which beyond making it acceptable for observant Muslims can mean that some extra care is taken in selecting the meat.  I think that is the case here.  They have seven spice levels.  I am a bit on the sensitive side and the medium was as hot as I can go. If you want it hotter they go up to "reaper".  The tenders themselves are huge, the size of ordinary chicken breasts.  The meat was tender and juicy, done just perfectly.  The hot chicken spice was somewhat less vinegary than most hot chicken I've had, and I consider that a good thing.  It made a wonderful fine crust on the chicken.  They give you honey with it, and that adds a great flavor, definitely put some on.  The tender comes with a slice of bread, the slider with a bun.  It is light on the bread either way.  The slider has kale slaw on it, but not very much, just enough to add flavor.  The fries were also done perfectly.  Dave's gives you lots of everything--sauce, ketchup, honey--so you won't run short.

There were a few issues.  They offer chocolate, strawberry and vanilla shakes on the menu but when I came in they only had vanilla.  It's a very good shake, nice flavor and consistency--just soft enough to get through the straw.  The building is somewhat rough and ready--rough, in that there was a door not working and the bathroom fixtures were kind of loose, but ready in that all the essentials worked.  The drink machine was in good shape.  Kudos for taking the failed El Pollo Loco space and doing something with it.  Staff were friendly and helpful, still getting used to the system but doing fine.  The decor is fun, very colorful with an urban vibe. This is gourmet chicken in a fast-food setting--an average meal like we had will set you back $20 each.  But the portions are huge.  You can save money with a single-tender or slider combo and have plenty of food.  It's the best hot chicken I've had yet.

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