Nothing but chicken?

When we first visited Zaxby's, I wasn't real excited about a place that served nothing but chicken, almost all of which was fried. Jay was in heaven, but the only plus for me was the fact that they served hot wings and they had good fries. Heck, I could get good wings and fries nearly anywhere. That's probably why we completely stopped going for a couple of years.

About the place

Zaxby's Real Chicken is a restaurant that was created by 2 guys in Georgia. According to their website, Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley "hatched" the chicken idea while playing basketball. As you might have guessed, the majority of locations can be found in Georgia, but they have sprung up all over the Southeast region.

This location

The location we visit most often is rather small. It is divided into 2 sections, one of which used to be a smoking section, but now the restaurant is smoke-free. The walls are trimmed with wood, and are adorned with many vintage signs as well as sports memorabilia. There are booths lining the walls and some tables in the middle under a roof, which looks like a hut with a green roof. The booth seats match the decorations. The back of the booth seats are covered in cloth, which have sports designs, such as golf clubs and baseball bats, and some vintage tags and signs.

Service

Zaxby's is not considered a fast food restaurant. In fact, there is a sign up that states you should be prepared to wait about 10-15 minutes for the preparation of your food because it is made after you order it.

The restaurant here looks like a basic fast food joint, with drive-thru and all. There are entrance doors on the sides and in the front. Orders are placed at the counter, and you are given your cups with ice and a pager to take to your table. Once the pager goes off, you can pick your order up at the counter. Drinks are self-serve, but you have to ask someone behind the counter for more ice. Dump your trash in the can on the way out, and someone will be along afterwards to wipe the table.

The Food

Isn't it just cute when a restaurant uses its name or part of it to name items on the menu? That's exactly what Zaxby's does, in case you were wondering why my incredible spelling skills have gone awry.

First on the menu are the Zalads. There are 4 Zalad choices at Zaxby's; the Zaxby's Zalad, Caesar, Greek, or Chicken Salad Zalad. The Zalads are $5.29 with choice of dressing, and the first three are available with either grilled or fried chicken. Not into Zalads? Perhaps a Sandwich Basket would be more to your liking. Sandwich baskets are served with fries and a pickle spear for just under $5. There are 2 grilled chicken sandwiches available, the plain grilled chicken and the Monterey jack. I had a grilled chicken sandwich on my very first visit, but it was nothing to write home about. In fact, that was a few years ago, and I haven't ordered it since. The other sandwiches use the signature chicken fingerz on Texas toast. I recently tried the Italian chicken sandwich. The chicken fingerz come topped with marinara and Monterey jack cheese on Texas toast. The sandwich could have been better with a different marinara sauce. The marinara tasted like crushed tomatoes with minimal flavor.

Wings and Fingerz

The Jumbo Buffalo Wings are $5 for 10 wings, $9.50 for 20, or $11.29 for 24 wings. You do the math. The fingerz are a little more expensive, but they are boneless, of course. There are 8 different flavors of wings and fingerz, original, wimpy, tongue torch, nuclear, insane, teriyaki, BBQ, and hot honey mustard. The sauces are hot, but have somewhat of a sweet taste to them. The buffalo fingerz come in the most popular flavor, tongue torch, unless otherwise specified. I started out on the tongue torch, but worked my way up to nuclear. The nuclear sauce is so hot that it makes my lips swell. I can't wait to get to the insane level!!

In addition to the plethora of chicken, they have some Zappetizers and side items. As I mentioned earlier, they have great fries. For some reason, crinkle cut fries always taste better, and that's what they serve with a bit of seasoned salt. They have some fried tater chips, onion peels, and fried mushrooms. You can also get a basket of the Texas toast which comes dripping in butter. The hot wings come with celery and carrots with ranch dressing, but they can also be purchased separately as a side item. They have a few desserts on the menu, like cookies, cheesecake, and key lime pie for a buck or two.

Got Kids?

Under the Kiddie Corner section of the menu they offer Kiddie nuggetz, fingerz, and grilled cheese. All kids' meals are $2.99 and they come with a small drink, taters with smiley faces, and dessert. The dessert we received with the meal was an individual rice krispy treat. My son was so excited about it, that he dropped it in the floor immediately after opening it. Fortunately the staff was kind enough to give us another one.

Overall Recommendation

If you like chicken, Zaxby's is worth trying. I used to think I wouldn't be able to find something at a place that serves nothing but chicken, but they do have quite a variety at reasonable prices. Of course, I would recommend the place to everyone, but unless you're in the Southeastern region, it might just be wishful thinking.

www.zaxbys.com


Recommended:
Yes