Anyone have the 411 on Dave's Hot Chicken?

[bcla]

There was a former Rubio's Baja Grill (aka Rubio's Coastal Grill) location that used to be extremely popular before COVID hit and then it closed. On Tuesday with the fish taco specials that place could be packed. But it's gone and not coming back. They still around, but closed a lot of locations after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

But in that location is Dave's Hot Chicken, which sounds like a chain. It looks like their cheapest hot chicken items (as an intro) are a single chicken tender or a slider, which sounds like it's one tender on a bun. I guess their menu isn't that complicated other than maybe getting a side. Maybe just how hot it is.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I haven't been, but I can confirm that it's a chain--I was at the mall earlier today, and there's one just outside (our mall was recently revamped to have more free-standing stores surrounding the base structure). I'm in North Carolina.

You might want to look at their online menu for prices, sides, and the like. Like you, I would wonder about how hot the chicken actually is (is it hot like temperature, or hot like spicy?). Only DH is a big spice person in our house, which is why I haven't tried it.

 

[dcassetta]

They are a chain, and their chicken tenders are available in a variety of spice levels from plain no spice to reaper. You can have the tenders on their own or served on a bun as a slider. Their sides are pretty limited – fries, mac & cheese, and slaw.

 

[bcla]

I decided to try it tonight. Just a tender, although it came on a slice of white bread with pickles and Dave's sauce. $4.99 and tax. Business seemed to be good, but that's often the case with a newly opened business. I saw somewhere that one of the founders was trained in cooking techniques at The French Laundry.

I rather liked it, but it was just chicken breast with that spicy coating. The meat was quite juicy, so I'm thinking it must have been pressure fried. Seemed somewhat similar to Popeye's blackened chicken. I went with the extra hot, which was supposed to be their second hottest after reaper. I could certainly tell it was hot, but honestly I've had more intense spiciness before, like habanero salsa with my chips. But it was good. Might go with the kiddo sometime, although I'm not sure about the heat level.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I first learned about Dave's Hot Chicken from Yelp and from what I read it's supposed to be good chicken and the sauces Dave's Hot Chicken offers are really delicious. And I didn't even know that Dave's Hot Chicken existed until I read some Yelp reviews on it. It sounds amazing and I wish I had one in my city. But Dave's Hot Chicken might have competition with Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers and Jollibee and KFC and Popeyes Louisiana Chicken because it seems chicken restaurants are replacing hamburger restaurants in fast food now

 

[DL1WDW2]

Hey has anybody tried the new sauces at McDonalds?



OMG I got charged 25 cents each for those today!
At McDonalds so I begrudgingly cancelled the burritos and left with my 50 cent purchase !

 

[Mysterian]

I've heard the chicken is hot. Guess that's why they call it that.

 

[jimmymc]

Just ate there last night, and I also go maybe once a month. The chicken is very good. What they call a tended is closer to a small boneless breast, and what they call sliders would be full-sized chicken sandwiches at other restaurants. There are 7 levels of spicy, and I think the lowest is no spice at all, so just a normal chicken tender with salt and pepper. The highest levels are very high, and the middle are a good balance between flavor and spice.

The menu is that simple: tenders, sliders (one tender, pickles, slaw, sauce), fries, mac n cheese, milkshakes, and sodas. The tenders and mac n cheese are great, the fries are ok, and the milkshakes are on the thinner side but taste good.

 

[tvguy]

They sure are popping up all over the place. Huge expansion push. May have to try it as my wife loves chicken, but is terrified of spicy foods. Can't get her to try El Pollo Loco either for that reason. I have to admit, I am getting tired of the continuing trend to make food too spicy to eat! Maybe the unspiced version would be passable.

 

[bcla]

They sure are popping up all over the place. Huge expansion push. May have to try it as my wife loves chicken, but is terrified of spicy foods. Can't get her to try El Pollo Loco either for that reason. I have to admit, I am getting tired of the continuing trend to make food too spicy to eat! Maybe the unspiced version would be passable.

El Pollo Loco isn't spicy at all. Their standard chicken is citrus (mostly lime) marinated. They have various salsas, but they can be pretty mild.

I remember when they used to be cheap and I would go to the one on E 14 in Oakland before going to an A's game (where I might take BART from Fruitvale or park with a season ticket discounted pass). There might have been something like an 8-12 piece special with tortillas for maybe $8-10. It was cheaper than food in the stadium. I would reserve three pieces for myself and then offer up the rest to my buddies who were regulars.

 

[bcla]

Just ate there last night, and I also go maybe once a month. The chicken is very good. What they call a tended is closer to a small boneless breast, and what they call sliders would be full-sized chicken sandwiches at other restaurants. There are 7 levels of spicy, and I think the lowest is no spice at all, so just a normal chicken tender with salt and pepper. The highest levels are very high, and the middle are a good balance between flavor and spice.

The menu is that simple: tenders, sliders (one tender, pickles, slaw, sauce), fries, mac n cheese, milkshakes, and sodas. The tenders and mac n cheese are great, the fries are ok, and the milkshakes are on the thinner side but taste good.

A single tender is rather long though. Definitely not sized to go on a typical round hamburger bun, although they say it's a potato bun.

I'm still waiting for a big chain to make tenders or sandwiches from dark meat, which inherently has more flavor. David Chang's Fuku uses leg and thigh meat in its chicken sandwiches.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I prefer Jay Birds Nashville Hot Chicken but Dave's is OK. A little too pricey for what you get IMHO.

 

[QueenIsabella]

A single tender is rather long though. Definitely not sized to go on a typical round hamburger bun, although they say it's a potato bun.

I'm still waiting for a big chain to make tenders or sandwiches from dark meat, which inherently has more flavor. David Chang's Fuku uses leg and thigh meat in its chicken sandwiches.

You're right about dark meat having more flavor--I prefer to cook with thighs versus breasts. But, a lot of people will only eat white meat. Smithfield's, a local chicken/barbecue chain, offers discounts if you get an 8 or 12 piece fried chicken meal that's all dark meat, versus mixed.

 

[jimmymc]

A single tender is rather long though. Definitely not sized to go on a typical round hamburger bun, although they say it's a potato bun.

I'm still waiting for a big chain to make tenders or sandwiches from dark meat, which inherently has more flavor. David Chang's Fuku uses leg and thigh meat in its chicken sandwiches.

It hangs out both ends of the bun, but that's fine with me.

 

[bcla]

You're right about dark meat having more flavor--I prefer to cook with thighs versus breasts. But, a lot of people will only eat white meat. Smithfield's, a local chicken/barbecue chain, offers discounts if you get an 8 or 12 piece fried chicken meal that's all dark meat, versus mixed.

Thighs and legs (or quarters) by their very nature won't dry out easily. I find it very difficult to overcook those parts. I've seen deboned thighs for sale at one local supermarket.

But then there's the issue with cooking a turkey. I've heard professional chefs stating that cooking all the parts cut is much better than a whole bird. Especially since the outside tends to overcook trying to properly cook the inside.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Thighs and legs (or quarters) by their very nature won't dry out easily. I find it very difficult to overcook those parts. I've seen deboned thighs for sale at one local supermarket.

But then there's the issue with cooking a turkey. I've heard professional chefs stating that cooking all the parts cut is much better than a whole bird. Especially since the outside tends to overcook trying to properly cook the inside.

The turkey recipe in "Joy of Cooking" has served me well through the years--never a bad bird. OTOH, my SIL has one of those countertops turkey roasters, and her bird turned out like you said--dry outside, wings way overcooked to the point of being inedible. But, she doesn't care, because...her family only eats white meat! OTOH, I enjoy gnawing on a turkey wing, Just, not at her house.

I frequently buy boneless, skinless thighs and use them in all sorts of recipes--they grill up quickly and have a more uniform thickness, IMHO, than breasts, which we typically split and pound flatter before we marinate and grill them.

 

[bcla]

I frequently buy boneless, skinless thighs and use them in all sorts of recipes--they grill up quickly and have a more uniform thickness, IMHO, than breasts, which we typically split and pound flatter before we marinate and grill them.

If I can get a good price on leg quarters or drumsticks, I'll just do that even if I have to pull of the skin and debone myself. And I'll save the bones for soup. I like having the meat in chunks rather than parts.

10 lb frozen bags of quarters aren't bad. I think I've paid as little as maybe $3 for those, although it takes a while to thaw them out.

 

[bcla]

Tried the Reaper yesterday. They wanted me to sign a release acknowledging the danger of it. Not sure how serious it was when it warned about death, I asked the cashier how it was and he said he’d never tried it before. The manager chimed in that he had and the flavor was pretty good from the pepper.

It was pretty good, but I was expecting maybe my face would turn red or something. It just kind of tingled a bit. It wouldn’t even describe what I felt as pain. I’ve bitten into habanero and a ghost pepper and those left me with an intense pain that could take hours to end.