Red's Famous Fried Chicken

****UPDATE.  Well, I am not surprised, but Red's Famous Fried Chicken has closed its doors and you can no longer get overpriced below average chicken.   I'm looking forward to whatever pops up in its place.


Red's Famous Fried Chicken



Red's is a new chicken place in town that is now in what used to be Cinco Ranch (a failed breastaraunt) and before that El Chico.  It is in the parking lot of Toys R Us, just east of Broadway and the loop.  They didn't do a whole lot to change the outside, but it looks well decorated and inviting from the outside.

The spread:  We were seated quickly and the inside decor was somewhat non-descript, I don't really know what style/theme they are going for.  They are a little unusual in that they don't have a menu.  I find not having a menu very peculiar. The waitress quickly explained the choices.  You can get fried chicken, chicken tenders, fried catfish or chicken fried steak.  All meals come with biscuits, a salad, mashed potatoes and cream gravy, green beans, and creamed corn.

The verdict:  Well, I hated the fact that you don't have a menu.  How do you know what to order if you don't know how much it costs and have a description of what it will be?  I don't want to sit there and have a conversation about the menu with the wait staff, I want to look and decide for myself.  The meal ended up being 11.99 per person (4.99 for the kids), which isn't unreasonable, but I just like to know costs up front.  The biscuits were okay, but too dense - I prefer a delighfully fluffy biscuit and theirs weren't hockey pucks, but you had to slather them down with honey and butter for them to be palatable.  The sides were also just ok, although my wife really enjoyed the creamed corn (I thought there was way too much cream).  The green beans were pretty good, but a little overcooked.  The mashed potatoes were made from real potatoes with the skin on.  The cream gravy was actually very good and had a unique flavor to it that made it memorable.  My wife had the chicken fingers and there were good (not quite as good as Raising Cane's) they were obviously marinated, juicy and had a nice crust to them.  I had the fried chicken and I was disappointed.  The chicken was marinated in a strange herbal marinade and the crust was more along the lines of KFC original recipe with very little crispiness.  Given the fact that I didn't care for their 'famous' fried chicken, I just can't recommend the place.

Edible Tyler Roses: 2 out of 5, Their chicken may be famous, but it ain't good.

Raising Cane's - name is more exciting than the food

Raising Cane's
4186 S Broadway Ave
Tyler, TX 75701
http://www.raisingcanes.com/



Raising Cane's is a new chicken joint just off of Broadway and the loop in what used to be the church parking lot of First Christian Church.  They just opened up shop in the past couple of months and as usual, Tylerites line up to try something new.

The spread:  They have a VERY focused menu.  You can basically order chicken fingers, fries, Texas toast and coleslaw in one combination or another.  They also have a 'famous' Cane sauce.  They have drive through and dine in options.

The verdict:  Maybe I was expecting too much.  They advertise that they marinate their chicken fingers for 24 hours and that I would be crazy for their Cane sauce.  The chicken fingers were good, the food came out fast and my order was correct.  The chicken fingers are definitely the best I have had in town, but that isn't saying much.  The chicken fingers were cooked well and were pretty juicy, but there really wasn't any "wow" factor.  Nothing really stood about in the flavor profile.  I was also a little disappointed in the Cane sauce, it was basically a very mildly spiced mayo/aoili emulsion.  I basically think whether or not you will love Raising Cane's will come down to what you think about the Cane sauce because nothing else really stands out.  I was ambivalent about the sauce and thus ambivalent about Raising Cane's.  It is definitely worth trying out once to see what you think for yourself.

Edible Tyler Roses:  2.5 out of 5.  Worth a try, but not my thing.