Best Chicken

1. Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers

Multiple locations; raisingcanes.com

Since opening its first restaurant in 1996, Raising Cane’s has been raising a ruckus in the fast food chicken market, expanding to markets across the country.

Cane’s, with a growing cult following, has blown up the chicken market the way In-NOut did with burgers.

“We pride ourselves on serving our Orange County Caniacs the perfect Chicken Finger box every time they visit one of our restaurants, and we can’t wait to keep being a staple in the Orange County community,” said Russell Ford, senior vice president of marketing.

With a super specific concept of not just chicken, but JUST chicken fingers, Cane’s prides itself on doing one thing and doing it well.

OK, so there is variation. There is a chicken sandwich, which is fingers on a bun. Sides are limited to fries, coleslaw and Texas toast.

The dipping sauce recipe is a closely guarded secret, although it looks suspiciously like Thousand Island without the islands. There is a hint of spice that sets it apart. The sauces are made daily only by the location’s general manager.

California is home to about 40 Raising Cane’s with more than 530 nationally and the chain shows few signs of slowing.

The company also touts its community involvement and donates food, gift cards and services for a variety of events with a particular focus on education, pet welfare, hunger, promoting active lifestyles and entrepreneurship.

JENNIFER CAPPUCCIO MAHER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Founder Todd Graves was told, according to the company website, that the chicken finger restaurant business plan he developed for a college class would never work.

– Greg Mellen

2. Chick-fil-A

Multiple locations; chick-fil-a.com

With more than 2,800 stores nationwide, despite plenty of traditional and new competition, this chicken joint remains the cock of the walk in the fast food chicken sandwich market.

Founded in 1946 as the Dwarf Grill in an Atlanta suburb and rebranded in 1967 as Chick-fil-A, the chain has been a stalwart in the market. That remains true despite its closed-on-Sunday policy.

When S. Truett Cathy unveiled his concept, the idea of a restaurant focused almost solely on breaded, boneless, chicken breast sandwiches was considered bold and maybe a bit foolhardy. More than 75 years later, it has stood the test of time and spawned plenty of imitators.

The signature remains the chicken sandwich — available in six variations, fried or grilled. Nuggets and strips with seven dipping sauces are also available as well as an array of sides and salads. The popular waffle fries and six flavors of milkshakes, including peach, are favorites.

The restaurants also feature a varied breakfast menu.

When Alvin C. Copeland Sr. opened Chicken on the Run outside New Orleans in 1972, it flopped. When he reopened as Popeyes with a spicy, New Orleans-style chicken, he had a hit that continues to this day.

The chain has numerous bone-in chicken and chicken tender combos from which to choose with a slew of sides that include red beans and rice, mashed potatoes macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, biscuits, plus Cajun style fries, rice and gravy.

In 2019, in an effort to replicate the successes of competitors in the chicken sandwich market, Popeyes unveiled four kinds of chicken sandwiches.

There are also four kinds of fried flounder sandwiches and fried shrimp and catfish and surf and turf combos.

Over the years, Popeyes has introduced and removed a number of items to the menu, some inspired, some, not so much. There has been crawfish, beer can and red stick chicken, blackened tenders, and the Thanksgiving turducken patty sandwich.

3. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

Multiple locations; popeyes.com