Business & Tech
You Say Tenders; I Say Fingers: Which Area Restaurant Has the Best Chicken Strips?
This week, our taster tried chicken tenders from three area restaurants. Tell us in the comments what foods you'd like us to taste in future challenges.
See future food challenges at the bottom of this column, comment below and enter to win a $50 gift card to a local restaurant. For more rules and details, see the guidelines.
Regardless of what you call them – chicken strips, chicken tenders or chicken fingers – they are one of America's most preferred ways to eat chicken: fried, without bones and with a tasty sauce.
Frankfort
OMG asked us to consider them for this challenge, so I headed over to their shop off Harlem Avenue. While I was in the store, several people came in (they ordered cupcakes and lasagna; not that I was eavesdropping) and I realized that I take my gluten-eating for granted. OMG must be a godsend for people with celiac disease.
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The chicken was tender and all-white, cooked perfectly. The breading wasn't the right consistency; it was a bit grainy, but I guess that's to be expected when you go gluten-free.
The good: Tasty all-white chicken made nice tenders.
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The bad: They were served with ketchup (surely, there are better gluten-free sauce alternatives!) Also, the texture of the breading won't fool anyone, but it's certainly tasty enough to keep people happy, special diet or not.
Mokena
One of our readers suggested Stoney Point, and I certainly didn't need my arm twisted to swing by. I was bummed that they don't have chicken tenders on the appetizer menu – they're only available as a dinner or a kids meal (and I didn't think I could get away with ordering that), so I got the dinner with au gratin potatoes (for $1 upcharge).
The tenders are served with the customer's choice of honey mustard, BBQ or ranch. The tenders were crispy and tasty, even on their own.
The good: Delicious crispy (not crumbly) breading with all-white, tender chicken inside made these strips very tasty.
The bad: Tenders aren't available as an appetizer, so for a grownup to quench her hankering for chicken tenders, she's got to spend 10 bucks!
New Lenox
Recently, we did a . A reader mentioned after the fact that Culver's has a good Reuben, so I thought why not hit Culver's for this challenge? (Plus, I've only been there for lemonade since they opened in New Lenox.)
Chicken tenders are available in plain or buffalo and as a basket meal or a snack pack, which come with two strips, fries and a small drink. I ordered the snack pack with honey mustard. I didn't like their honey mustard; it was too sweet and had a weird consistency. (According the to packet, the first ingredient is corn syrup. That explains it! Or could it be that I'm simply spoiled by Paul Newman's honey mustard, which lists mustard as its first ingredient after water?)
The good: The chicken itself was all-white meat and very tasty.
The bad: The strips would have been perfect if they'd been removed from the fryer a minute sooner; the breading was just a bit too hard. Also, next time I'll get a different dipping sauce. The fries, by the way, were very good.
THE WINNER: . They served up the tastiest chicken tenders that were terrific even without sauce. (But if you do go with honey mustard, Stoney Point's is decent. It's closer to Newman's Own than to Culver's).
Looking for local eats? Do you disagree with our taster? Head over to your local Patch Places food and dining directory. Find new spots, read reviews and even post a your own reviews on the profile pages.
Future Chowdown Challenges will include Caesar salad, chicken sandwiches and chowder (corn, clam, other – you tell us!)
