Zaxby's Earns 3 Stars, Great Sauces

It was the last day of seventh grade for my daughter; so my wife and I wanted to take her to lunch.  I know she is a chicken finger fan and I heard that Zaxby’s at 2028 E. Brandon Blvd., Valrico, only serves chicken; off we went.

Actually, my nephew, who lives in Atlanta, manages a Zaxby’s up in Georgia while working his way through college and he highly recommends the place so that was a little added incentive.

As my wife, daughter and I approached the door, we were immediately met by a large trash can overflowing with plastic bottles, brown paper bags and to-go boxes from the restaurant—not a good start for lunch.

I was a little confused and don’t exactly know what message the restaurant is trying to get across.  A sign read: "Nude Beaches" and had a hand arrow pointing to Anchorage, Alaska.  There were autographed pictures of Larry Byrd, Magic Johnson and Dale Earnhardt and a hockey goalie's uniform but I couldn’t figure out the relationship. I got the whole sports thing but I couldn’t see what they had to do with the statues of the Blues Brothers or the cigar boxes or Columbus, Ohio—a couple of booths were dedicated to this city in the Midwest for some reason. I tried to find a common thread and maybe that was the point—confusion.

I ordered the "kickin chicken sandwich meal" that came with crinkle-cut fries and a pickle. At least the menu said pickle but I’m not a huge fan so I didn’t say anything when it was missing. The sandwich came on Texas toast, love that bread, and had a couple of different sauces. One sauce was ranch and the other was a "tongue torch hot sauce,} which I really liked.  Although I’m not a crinkle-cut fry fan, they were cooked fresh and crispy—perfect as far as my family and I are concerned. I also ordered the spicy fried mushroom appetizer, which was very tasty but looked nothing like the photo behind the counter—way too small.

My wife got the boneless wing meal that came with the same crinkle-cut fries, celery sticks and ranch dressing.  The celery was as fresh as it gets and, believe me, I look for that kind of stuff.  The iced tea was fresh brewed as opposed to this tea-in-the-box stuff that a lot of places are converting to—good stuff.

My daughter ordered the chicken finger plate and made me proud as she literally examined it as I would. She held it in front of herself and broke the tender while looking for the wisp of steam that is supposed to escape—hats off for the freshness thing they have going here. She loved her fries and piece of Texas toast that accompanied the meal but gave me her cole slaw. I wasn’t terribly impressed but, then again, it wasn’t the worst I’ve eaten.

I have a couple of questions as far as the food goes.  We got two different types of sauces with the meals. One was a “Zax Sauce” and it was a dipping sauce with a tamarind taste—that’s the exotic spice that is in A-1 sauce-- and the other was a “Zestable Dip” that had a horseradish bite to it--almost like a remoulade. My question is this: where can I get some more of those sauces? The packages at Zaxby’s were premade at a corporate store but I’m sure there’s a place out there that makes these—please e-mail me with directions to this store.

I’m giving these guys three stars and it would have been higher had I not  worked my way around a nasty garbage can to get in the restaurant.

1 Star--Wouldn't go back on a bet

2 Star--Would have to go back, but only on a bet

3 Star--If I was in the neighborhood and hungry

4 Star--Would go out of my way even if I wasn't hungry

5 Star--Would make reservations and wait in a line