Fast food find: Zaxby’s

Haley Madison | Blog Editor | @haleyshantelle

 

I have only heard extreme opinions on Zaxby’s. My brother-in-law who lived in Georgia for 2 years loves it. My sister who is currently living in Georgia hates it. My friend who tried it when it first opened in Orem was not impressed. Since they are popping up all over Utah County, I finally decided to figure it out for myself.

We ordered the Cajun Club and the Chicken Finger Platter. The menu was a higher price point than I was expecting but nothing outrageous. We payed just under $14.00 for the two meals.

We pulled up to the window, I gave the girl my card and within seconds our food was handed to us. I said, “That was unsettlingly fast…” as we drove out of the drive-through. There is a delicate balance with the speed of fast food. Too slow and it beats the purpose of “fast food” but too quick and you feel like your food has been waiting all day for you to make your appearance. Oh, well. We only did this to ourselves.

First the Chicken Finger Platter. The chicken fingers themselves were very impressive. The batter has a good flavor to it but it’s not too heavy. It allows the chicken to still taste like chicken but while in a crunchy, flavorful vessel. The breading is very crunchy which I think is great.

The fries are a basic crinkle cut fry. Nothing too special there. If your drive home is too long or you let your fries sit for a while they run the risk of getting a soggy texture to them. The seasoning that Zaxby’s uses is really good and they use the right amount of it. The seasoning brings the score of the fries up from just being a regular, mushy crinkle cut.

The platter also came with a slice of Texas toast which was delicious and a cup of coleslaw which tasted like coleslaw. The dinner was also supposed to come with their signature Zax’s Sauce but instead came with ranch. *sigh* So, no thoughts on their signature sauce. Oh well. The ranch was really good. I’ll give them that.

The Cajun Club was not exactly what I was expecting. I thought it would be a fried chicken breast but instead it was grilled, which ended up being a nice surprise. It’s on a brioche bun with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and ranch. I ordered mine without tomato but it still came with the tomato. *double sigh* Oh well. The sandwich had a good amount of flavor to it for only being a grilled chicken breast. There was also a substantial amount of chicken on it. The lettuce did get a bit swallowed up but it stayed crisp for most of the sandwich.

Overall, Zaxby’s exceeded my expectations. It’s a fried chicken fast food restaurant, just like to be expected, but I thought they put their own spin on it. Each meal came with a ton of food but I didn’t feel like it was too heavy or too greasy.

Was I floored? No. Would I go again? Yes. Would I recommend it? Probably. Zaxby’s has made its way onto my radar.