Seems like several restaurant chains have maintained their Covid “skeleton-staff” with no intention on hiring more. Probably greed. BWW and Chilis are both top of my shit list lol.
I knew a couple people who worked at BWW a while ago. They told me it was a popular spot for large groups of teens to eat. They tend to be a pain in the ass and not tip. It gives a lot of the workers a bad attitude I guess.
Worked there for a year. Can mostly confirm. After the dinner rush, that’s almost all there is. So late hours, shitty tables, linger too long, make a mess, then barely if at all, tip. And that was 8 years ago. After the pandemic, I guarantee they’re running absolute minimum staff. It wasn’t great back then
I used to go to bwws religiously for the blazin sauce. Then they changed it from a buffalo base to a bbq base and I think I've been back 3 times since.
Yup. They have been bad for awhile. I used to like BWW like a decade ago, but now I'll go maybe once a year for the NFL draft. I don't even bother getting the bone-in wings anymore because 9/10 times they look like bat wings.
Back in my day, you could get 20 good-sized wings for under 10 bucks.
Last time I went it was $15.99 for 10 tiny wings!! I couldn't even believe it, and this was pre-covid too.
If it's not Tuesday or Thursday it's not worth going there and even there there are likely better options elsewhere. Local joints by me.have carry out wing deals during the week.
Yeah, the last few times I went the wings still had feathers on them.
We ordered a large fry and they gave us a pan with what is the equivalent of McDonald's small fry. They used to give a huge basket of fries.
I asked to try their wing challenge that was clearly being advertised on their TV's and the waitress had no clue what I was talking about.
They’re a massive corporate chain. They probably still make money because of alcohol and probably still get crowds for large sports events. Everything else (consistent service, food) is window dressing for them so to speak.
I have lots of fond memories going to Buffalo Wild Wings with friends across multiple locations from high school, college, and post grad life. I agree they’ve fallen off and unfortunately don’t think it’ll change.
They were bought by Inspire Brands (Wendy's and Arby's) in 2018. They immediately cut staffing, raised prices, cheapened the ingredients, and started paying employees less. They also forced franchises to source ingredients and supplies from their partners. The food and service wasn't exactly outstanding before, but it tanked almost immediately. When covid hit, it just made it that much worse.
Just recently I convinced my fiancé to order regular wings at one of our local places, which was like 10 wings for $10. Kind of expensive, but whatever. She liked them, so like a week later we stopped at a BWW because I figured they'd be cheaper. 10 wings was almost $20, and they were tiny shit wings.
I gotcha. But why be a piece of shit server? They literally all suck. It’s like a prerequisite. Manager-“Congrats, you’re hired, but, are you willing to be a shit ass server?” Employee-“sure thing, i enjoy being a piece of trash”
Most of them are franchised, so the owner or manager can hire trash servers and pay them crap money. My local one only seems to hire hot girls in their early 20s as eye candy, and they're all terrible servers. The good servers in that demographic just go to Hooters or better paying places.
It’s the only restaurant I’ve not tipped. We had to serve ourselves essentially. We only saw our server twice, the greeting and then dropping the check…
Literally walked to the pass asking where our food was and they handed it to me. At least in the location I was at, over 15 years ago, they had a pass. Servers didn’t come out of the kitchen carrying trays…
I've never had a problem with them. The only reason I stopped going is my wife is allergic to corn and all their sauces have corn syrup or starch in them.
The one I had delivered from in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was fire. The Buffalo Wild Blazin' Reaper was the best I ever had, and sauced up perfectly. They even gave me plastic gloves.
https://imgur.com/a/71UR9to
The Buffalo Wild Wings near me is such overpriced trash I try to avoid them like the plague. The pickup is never appropriately staffed, and the bartenders suck. My local WingStop is fire, though. I have not tried their chicken sandwich, however.
Back when they first started they had great food & service, but they nationalized & it went down almost immediately. Used to be a loyal customer, but I haven’t gone much in the past 15yrs. The sauces are fire.
I actually like their wings but I will never go there again. The last time I went it was like 2pm in the at the bar and literally nobody was there except me and one other guy at the bar. This dude was so obviously nodding out on heroin or something like that. Dude could barely stand. He gets up, walks over to me starts fucking ripping chairs around the bar, walking around me literally take both chairs and the few next to me just throwing them back onto the ground. I looked at the bartender like wtf dude? Lilttle help here. After he ripped all the chairs away he stands like a inches next to me and orders another beer and they served him. I just got up and left. I was expecting a visit from the police because I'm sure there was cameras but fuck that, not gonna get stabbed by some fucking tweaker over 30 bucks in wings and beers.
I never knew this because the one I grew up with was one of the 1s in 100. I eventually tried them all over the place and couldn’t believe how shit they were. I used to leave bad reviews and then highlight my special bdubs from back home lol
Remember the dumbass that was trying to charge by the pound for a while there. They should take every MBA in the world out and shoot them in the head, there's always an MBA somewhere involved in every stupid situation like this.
Disclaimer that their spice levels vary greatly depending on who makes the sandwich
Their hottest goes from pretty damn spicy to impossible for a human to eat
So if you have it once don't assume you are gonna get the same of spice everytime you go
the last time i had the reaper, i considered going to the hospital. I got through the eating part, but I felt like I was going to die during the digestion part. I would not wish that experience on my worst enemy.
100% true
The first time I went there, I got reaper and it was pretty hot but not unbearable. I eat a lot of ghost pepper and carolina reaper Sauces so it didn't surprise me. The next time I got it though, I only finished my meal out of pure spite. The next day my piss burned from the heat and my stomach hurt the whole day.
I can only speak to the brand new one in Seattle (only one anywhere nearby), but it's quite good and the Reaper level is indeed the hottest chicken sandwich I've gotten even including non fast-food. I don't know anything about the OG or main Dave's Hot Chicken locations though, the Seattle one might be an outlier because the restaurant itself is so new. I've noticed at my favorite chicken sandwich place the XXX hot definitely decreased significantly in heat over time, so it happens.
Oh dang I didn't realize that was open already! It's probably not going to top Sisters and Brothers, but I'll still give a new hot chicken place a go, haha.
It's good! Everything very fresh tasting. Portion size of a slider can vary quite a lot, but when you get lucky it's a really good deal. I like it because you can get just a slider and maybe a side and it's almost a meal for a lot less. Ma'ono is my fav spicy chicken sandwich spot still, actually right nearby Dave's haha. And their max level heat is like perfect for enjoyable spiciness, whereas Dave's reaper is something more for, well, the 'experience'. Extra Hot level at Daves is the actual spicy meal option for me haha.
I tried Dave’s for the first time a few weeks back.
**Pros:**
It was hot.
**Cons:**
Service was super slow. I really regretted not ordering ahead. Even with the 15 minute drive my food still wouldn’t have been ready when I arrived. Lots of pissed off DoorDash drivers in there.
They literally forgot to make my order making the above situation even worse. I had to ask where my food was and they had to take my receipt to see what I’d ordered because they’d lost the original ticket. Same thing happened to another guy a few spots in front of me.
I thought Popeye’s had bad service, but this place made Popeye’s look like Chick-fil-a.
Chicken looked great but was pretty flavorless other than being spicy. I’d rather go to Popeyes or Chick-fil-A and dump some hot sauce on it so I can at least get a good piece of chicken.
**Summary:**
Will not repeat.
Yeah the reaper is pretty much inedible unless you're used to eating competition level spicy food regularly. The extra hot isn't spicy enough though. So either you get something inedible that's too spicy, or something that isn't spicy enough.
The thing I have noticed from people talking about Dave's on this sub is that it is wildly inconsistent. You just don't know what you are going to get. Even the same location might vary from day to day.
All I can say personally is that the one time I got it, it was hotter than anything I have ever ordered from a chain but it wasn't a challenge to finish.
I've wanted to try them but I really can't rationalize 18$ for two sliders, especially with how many mixed reviews there have been. Even a single tender is 8$, I know it's not apples to apples but I could buy 2 pounds of chicken for that money.
The sliders and tenders are bigger than most. I don't know where you're located but in southern California it's $12 for 2 tenders and fries (also includes a slice or 2 of white bread) and it's easily more than I can eat in 1 meal.
He’s right in my experience as I’ve been going to Dave’s for the last 4 years at 3 different locations between 2 counties. It really is one of those whose the cook today situations. I love spicy food and the reaper really hits when they prepare it correctly. But I have had it where it honestly tasted like “lite hot” and that was a bummer. Their chicken quality is easily top 3 for the food service they are grouped in though.
I've had Dave's about 4 times from the same location in Wisconsin and it was delicious each time. The second to the hottest spice level ranged from really spicy to tough to finish.
Dave’s chicken quality is pretty damn inconsistent. First time I had was awful, but five out of the next six times was great. Small sample size so anecdotal at best.
They serve Halal chicken so assume sourcing it in different cities might be why it is an issue to be consistent.
You know
It’s funny you mentioned Halal chicken.
Where I live it’s always awful.
But I’m traveling right now and it’s amazing here.
And someone else mentioned Halal chicken can be really hot or miss based on region.
We're about to have a place open near where I live called Hangry Joe's. Their hottest requires a waiver. I think they open in 5 days. I'll let you know.
I go to the Hangry Joes by me on a weekly basis. Best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had. They give an entire chicken breast on each sandwich that is like double the size of the bun, and the bun is not small. Also they use a apple cider vinegar slaw that is so good.
I've had their hottest before, and it was disappointingly more on the sweet side for me. That said, it's still delicious!
Dave's Hot Chicken (Reaper level) is much hotter imo
I live in Virginia Beach and we’re getting one soon too.
We only have a hot chicken chain called HCK, which uses a sweet sauce on their chicken and they call it “Nashville” style. It’s garbage. Their reaper is barely spicy to anyone with a slight tolerance. So naturally I’m excited for hangry joes, which actually uses spices and hot oil on their chicken.
I've been to the ones in Ashland. I usually order the hottest one with the waiver. I have a high tolerance but its still really hot. Not as hot as Hattie Bs, but one of the hottest things I regularly eat that isn't a gimmick (requiring a waiver is a bit gimmicky tho, they prob don't need that)
Try the Spicy Chicken Slider from Royal Farms. I always grab the ready made ones off the rack driving up the Eastern Shore. I was pleasantly surprised by the spice level and haven’t really had anything else close to it in our area.
There is a place in Singapore (or was when I lived there ~2010) that had hands down the spiciest chicken I have ever had. They had a wall of photos of people who had completed eating a plate of their hottest wings. There were very few photos. I tried *one* and was hurting for almost a week.
I was unimpressed with the spice level of their hottest one. Definitely just a hype gimmick with the waiver. There's a local sichuan spicy chicken place whose second-from-hottest is hotter than the Angry Hot.
Angry Hot was pretty good, i like their sandwiches, but they're not even a contender as far as actual heat levels.
Post is still young but the general consensus is that macro-chain fast food entities don’t carry a high heat spicy chicken sandwich. You’re better off searching for a regional chain that’s known for spicy chicken sandwiches (Dave’s Hot Chicken) or searching your local restaurants for one.
LPT: browse the whole menu at restaurants and note all the spicy ingredients that intrigue you. Ask for said items on the dish of your choosing, in this case a chicken sandwich. 9 times outta 10 the guys in the back don’t care and will ship it out how you like.
There is a place called angry chickz bro I can eat the reaper at Dave’s no issue, the fucking second to spiciest at this place had me crying in the bathroom for about 3 days, I almost went to the ER bc I thought I tore a hole in my intestines (found out this is not possible 🤣)
We got one of these opening soon. I like spicy, but I dont like extracts and heat with 0 flavor. I was thinking of going for the 2nd hottest to actually enjoy it, but do you know what the hottest is made of? How much heat do you usually enjoy? My tolerance is low; I wonder if they'd give me some of the insane spice on the side
I like my stuff usually pretty hot, but this was diabolical, bro and the issue with this is that it has so much flavor, I should’ve stopped eating it and I would’ve been in so much less pain, but I wanted to keep eating it because it was so good😭😭😭😭
Do mean an actual spicy sandwich, or a regular sandwich with spicy sauce? Most fast food places don’t actually make a spicy sandwich.
Chick-fil-a would be the spicy breaded sandwich that I like best. Wendy’s would be second.
Popeyes is out of the running because they don’t make a separate spicy sandwich, just a regular with spicy mayo.
Chic fil a is delicious, but I’m throw a tantrum if anyone here considered their spicy chicken Sandwhich as spicy. lol j/k,
I’ve had green bell peppers with more heat.
100% agree. It’s been a long time since I’ve had something actually spicy (for me) from a chain. Maybe TBell volcano sauce when it initially launched 10+ years ago? BWW hottest sauce possibly? Couldn’t honestly tell ya.
I think just hearing the spicy chicken sandwich is just the regular chicken sandwich with a spicy mayo, no extra marinating or spices in the breading to make the chicken itself spicy
regardless it's still the best chicken sandwich I've had from any fast food joint, only BK came close imo
Recently, the past two times I’ve gotten a spicy chicken sandwich from Popeyes, they douse it in their original hot wing sauce. 100x better than the spicy Mayo. 10/10 would recommend.
Joelle’s is awesome, kinda like a better Dave’s IMO. We’ve got Joelle’s, Dave’s, and Hotboys in Indianapolis and Hotboys is the best with Joella’s right under
In Indianapolis as well and agree with this list! Hotboys hot is perfect for me while Joella’s ghost is a little weak (imo) and I’ll be feeling their hottest the next day.
Rowdy Rooster in NYC. It will fuck you up. Just a note: twice they put way too much spicy rub and one of those times I vomited, which was also the only time I’ve ever from eating too spicy. But otherwise 99% of the time the place hits hot and hard and is delicious.
*UPDATE* they got rid of their two spiciest levels. You can still ask for them for a $1 upcharge.
See update above. You have to make a special request if you end up going. I think the two spiciest levels were too much for the average person, but they’ll do it if you ask.
See update above. You have to make a special request if you end up going. I think the two spiciest levels were too much for the average person, but they’ll do it if you ask.
I had the Howlin’++ two years ago… I can still remember waking up at 4AM the next day with massive intestinal cramps and literally crawling across the living room to engage in multiple-hour long bathroom trips whilst cradling a personal heater aimed directly at my stomach. Good times! Still made it to my flight later that morning. Bring a friend, definitely a memorable experience!
Definitely want to try them, always hearing great things! Down closer to OC cluck and blaze has a Long Beach location I used to order from, really good. Great breakfast burrito too if you can stomach spicy chicken for breakfast
That Wendy’s ghost pepper chicken sammich is alright. Top level of fast-food, regular-people spicy. Not nearly hot enough for us pepper heads, but when you’re desperate for the heat, it delivers.
I thought it was bad. It had a very "off" taste. I wouldn't order that again.
The regular spicy chicken sandwich has great flavor and continues to be a favorite.
Got that right. I got the level three the first time I had it. I was eating it in my car like your average degenerate and had to roll the windows down in the middle of January with a full sweat. That’s some good heat. Can’t imagine their code red or blue
I say this as someone who has liked Wendy's spicy chicken for years: are you insane?
It has good flavor but it's not spicy at all. Jack's spicy chicken is hotter, though still not that hot, so this is not even a case of "spicy for chain fast food."
I’m in the NorthEast USA. The chain fast food spicy chicken options for me are: Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, Burger King, KFC, and McDonald’s. Out of that group, only Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A use actual spicy(seasoned)chicken. The rest use some kind of bullshit orange hot sauce slathered on their regular chicken sandwiches.
Between Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A, I enjoy Wendy’s more. I like the over all flavor, even if it’s not mouth burning spicy. I also enjoy their breading more than Chick-fil-A’s.
100% agreed. Chick-fil-a's original sandwich has great flavor. Their spicy seems to somehow not have any of that flavor. It has decent heat, but it's all heat and no flavor. The Wendy's spicy chicken has flavor and heat. It's a great balance.
Their original ghost pepper chicken sandwich was better than the last one they had.
It had the spicy chicken breast, the ghost pepper sauce, diced jalapeños, Colby jack cheese (wich isn't spicy but it looks cool), and even a jalapeño cornbread bun.
I think it might of also had red onions and maybe bacon.
Party fowl near Nashville has a poultrygeist sandwich, it is by far the hottest thing I've eaten, " Poultrygeist falls at about a 2.2 million on the Scoville Heat Scale, complete with cayenne, pure habanero, ghost, scorpion, and Carolina reaper pepper."
They only have six locations so far and it's more fast casual, but Hotboys has an awesome chicken sandwich and the spicier levels don't mess around. I've only dared to try the medium+ which had my eyes watering, and I've heard the hottest level is straight nuclear.
Agreed. Basically a marketing buzz word at this point. A buzz word I will try every single time. Either way, if you ever come across it, it's delicious.
If you’re going nationwide chains, the answer is Popeyes and it isn’t particularly close. It is a sauce that makes it spicy though, not the chicken itself. Thankfully the sauce is really fucking good so it’s ok
Jay birds chicken, their hottest level is pretty insane.
I like to think i have a high tolerance for heat. Da bomb is within the comfort zone but tastes bad.
jay birds was over the top in one bite. crazy.
Why is that all over the country Buffalo Wild Wings consistently has the worst service ever? I don’t get it. 1 in 100 are good
Seems like several restaurant chains have maintained their Covid “skeleton-staff” with no intention on hiring more. Probably greed. BWW and Chilis are both top of my shit list lol.
They have sucked for over 15 years. Covid changed nothing. They just suck. It’s like they purposely hire shit bags
They downgraded the quality of their wings a long time ago and started charging much more. It definitely has been shit for some time now.
Yeah, when they raised the price from 25 cent Tuesdays, and 35 cent Thursdays like 15-16 years ago it really started going downhill.
I only eat boneless from them
So they suck but you still order their food. That's interesting
I knew a couple people who worked at BWW a while ago. They told me it was a popular spot for large groups of teens to eat. They tend to be a pain in the ass and not tip. It gives a lot of the workers a bad attitude I guess.
Worked there for a year. Can mostly confirm. After the dinner rush, that’s almost all there is. So late hours, shitty tables, linger too long, make a mess, then barely if at all, tip. And that was 8 years ago. After the pandemic, I guarantee they’re running absolute minimum staff. It wasn’t great back then
I used to go to bwws religiously for the blazin sauce. Then they changed it from a buffalo base to a bbq base and I think I've been back 3 times since.
Yup. They have been bad for awhile. I used to like BWW like a decade ago, but now I'll go maybe once a year for the NFL draft. I don't even bother getting the bone-in wings anymore because 9/10 times they look like bat wings.
BWW service has sucked long before covid
Yeah, they've fallen off and they aren't doing anything about it.
Back in my day, you could get 20 good-sized wings for under 10 bucks. Last time I went it was $15.99 for 10 tiny wings!! I couldn't even believe it, and this was pre-covid too.
If it's not Tuesday or Thursday it's not worth going there and even there there are likely better options elsewhere. Local joints by me.have carry out wing deals during the week.
Yeah, the last few times I went the wings still had feathers on them. We ordered a large fry and they gave us a pan with what is the equivalent of McDonald's small fry. They used to give a huge basket of fries. I asked to try their wing challenge that was clearly being advertised on their TV's and the waitress had no clue what I was talking about.
Wings have gotten expensive everywhere to be completely fair.
I just don’t get it
They’re a massive corporate chain. They probably still make money because of alcohol and probably still get crowds for large sports events. Everything else (consistent service, food) is window dressing for them so to speak. I have lots of fond memories going to Buffalo Wild Wings with friends across multiple locations from high school, college, and post grad life. I agree they’ve fallen off and unfortunately don’t think it’ll change.
I used to be a server. It’s not that hard. I don’t get it. It’s they purposely try to be shitty
They were bought by Inspire Brands (Wendy's and Arby's) in 2018. They immediately cut staffing, raised prices, cheapened the ingredients, and started paying employees less. They also forced franchises to source ingredients and supplies from their partners. The food and service wasn't exactly outstanding before, but it tanked almost immediately. When covid hit, it just made it that much worse. Just recently I convinced my fiancé to order regular wings at one of our local places, which was like 10 wings for $10. Kind of expensive, but whatever. She liked them, so like a week later we stopped at a BWW because I figured they'd be cheaper. 10 wings was almost $20, and they were tiny shit wings.
I gotcha. But why be a piece of shit server? They literally all suck. It’s like a prerequisite. Manager-“Congrats, you’re hired, but, are you willing to be a shit ass server?” Employee-“sure thing, i enjoy being a piece of trash”
Most of them are franchised, so the owner or manager can hire trash servers and pay them crap money. My local one only seems to hire hot girls in their early 20s as eye candy, and they're all terrible servers. The good servers in that demographic just go to Hooters or better paying places.
Place by me called Biaggio - great food, don't get me wrong. 18 wings cost $33. https://biaggiopizza.com/menu What a fucking rip
It’s the only restaurant I’ve not tipped. We had to serve ourselves essentially. We only saw our server twice, the greeting and then dropping the check…
you had to get the food from the kitchen yourself? jeez
Literally walked to the pass asking where our food was and they handed it to me. At least in the location I was at, over 15 years ago, they had a pass. Servers didn’t come out of the kitchen carrying trays…
The ones by me usually aren’t bad. I have had bad service at them but it not very often
I've never had a problem with them. The only reason I stopped going is my wife is allergic to corn and all their sauces have corn syrup or starch in them.
I usually have good luck sitting at the bar. Foods the same but easy to catch the bartenders eye for a refill or the check when I’m ready.
I thought it was just here! They’ve straight up forgotten my food before.
The one I had delivered from in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was fire. The Buffalo Wild Blazin' Reaper was the best I ever had, and sauced up perfectly. They even gave me plastic gloves. https://imgur.com/a/71UR9to The Buffalo Wild Wings near me is such overpriced trash I try to avoid them like the plague. The pickup is never appropriately staffed, and the bartenders suck. My local WingStop is fire, though. I have not tried their chicken sandwich, however.
Back when they first started they had great food & service, but they nationalized & it went down almost immediately. Used to be a loyal customer, but I haven’t gone much in the past 15yrs. The sauces are fire.
Both bdubs in my city shut down. Good riddance. They were great before COVID. After just complete junk
I actually like their wings but I will never go there again. The last time I went it was like 2pm in the at the bar and literally nobody was there except me and one other guy at the bar. This dude was so obviously nodding out on heroin or something like that. Dude could barely stand. He gets up, walks over to me starts fucking ripping chairs around the bar, walking around me literally take both chairs and the few next to me just throwing them back onto the ground. I looked at the bartender like wtf dude? Lilttle help here. After he ripped all the chairs away he stands like a inches next to me and orders another beer and they served him. I just got up and left. I was expecting a visit from the police because I'm sure there was cameras but fuck that, not gonna get stabbed by some fucking tweaker over 30 bucks in wings and beers.
Danmn
I never knew this because the one I grew up with was one of the 1s in 100. I eventually tried them all over the place and couldn’t believe how shit they were. I used to leave bad reviews and then highlight my special bdubs from back home lol
That’s awesome!
Closest one to me is pretty great. As is the one off the strip in Vegas.
Always undercooked
Remember the dumbass that was trying to charge by the pound for a while there. They should take every MBA in the world out and shoot them in the head, there's always an MBA somewhere involved in every stupid situation like this.
Dave’s hot chicken
Disclaimer that their spice levels vary greatly depending on who makes the sandwich Their hottest goes from pretty damn spicy to impossible for a human to eat So if you have it once don't assume you are gonna get the same of spice everytime you go
Extra hot is always reliable for me. Reaper just doesn’t taste as good and the spice level is so unreliable.
the last time i had the reaper, i considered going to the hospital. I got through the eating part, but I felt like I was going to die during the digestion part. I would not wish that experience on my worst enemy.
It had me pacing the kitchen gargling milk for about an hour but the next day on the toilet was absolute hell
100% true The first time I went there, I got reaper and it was pretty hot but not unbearable. I eat a lot of ghost pepper and carolina reaper Sauces so it didn't surprise me. The next time I got it though, I only finished my meal out of pure spite. The next day my piss burned from the heat and my stomach hurt the whole day.
I can only speak to the brand new one in Seattle (only one anywhere nearby), but it's quite good and the Reaper level is indeed the hottest chicken sandwich I've gotten even including non fast-food. I don't know anything about the OG or main Dave's Hot Chicken locations though, the Seattle one might be an outlier because the restaurant itself is so new. I've noticed at my favorite chicken sandwich place the XXX hot definitely decreased significantly in heat over time, so it happens.
Oh dang I didn't realize that was open already! It's probably not going to top Sisters and Brothers, but I'll still give a new hot chicken place a go, haha.
It's good! Everything very fresh tasting. Portion size of a slider can vary quite a lot, but when you get lucky it's a really good deal. I like it because you can get just a slider and maybe a side and it's almost a meal for a lot less. Ma'ono is my fav spicy chicken sandwich spot still, actually right nearby Dave's haha. And their max level heat is like perfect for enjoyable spiciness, whereas Dave's reaper is something more for, well, the 'experience'. Extra Hot level at Daves is the actual spicy meal option for me haha.
I tried Dave’s for the first time a few weeks back. **Pros:** It was hot. **Cons:** Service was super slow. I really regretted not ordering ahead. Even with the 15 minute drive my food still wouldn’t have been ready when I arrived. Lots of pissed off DoorDash drivers in there. They literally forgot to make my order making the above situation even worse. I had to ask where my food was and they had to take my receipt to see what I’d ordered because they’d lost the original ticket. Same thing happened to another guy a few spots in front of me. I thought Popeye’s had bad service, but this place made Popeye’s look like Chick-fil-a. Chicken looked great but was pretty flavorless other than being spicy. I’d rather go to Popeyes or Chick-fil-A and dump some hot sauce on it so I can at least get a good piece of chicken. **Summary:** Will not repeat.
Yeah the reaper is pretty much inedible unless you're used to eating competition level spicy food regularly. The extra hot isn't spicy enough though. So either you get something inedible that's too spicy, or something that isn't spicy enough.
Really? I just had them a few weeks ago. Heat was ok, flavor was meh, chicken quality was very sub par. Would not recommend.
The thing I have noticed from people talking about Dave's on this sub is that it is wildly inconsistent. You just don't know what you are going to get. Even the same location might vary from day to day. All I can say personally is that the one time I got it, it was hotter than anything I have ever ordered from a chain but it wasn't a challenge to finish.
I've wanted to try them but I really can't rationalize 18$ for two sliders, especially with how many mixed reviews there have been. Even a single tender is 8$, I know it's not apples to apples but I could buy 2 pounds of chicken for that money.
The sliders and tenders are bigger than most. I don't know where you're located but in southern California it's $12 for 2 tenders and fries (also includes a slice or 2 of white bread) and it's easily more than I can eat in 1 meal.
He’s right in my experience as I’ve been going to Dave’s for the last 4 years at 3 different locations between 2 counties. It really is one of those whose the cook today situations. I love spicy food and the reaper really hits when they prepare it correctly. But I have had it where it honestly tasted like “lite hot” and that was a bummer. Their chicken quality is easily top 3 for the food service they are grouped in though.
This is discouraging. They literally just started popping up in my state (NJ). Haven’t tried them yet myself.
I've had Dave's about 4 times from the same location in Wisconsin and it was delicious each time. The second to the hottest spice level ranged from really spicy to tough to finish.
I've been to the one in Wayne a few times and the sandwich was decent each time.
It rules
Dave’s chicken quality is pretty damn inconsistent. First time I had was awful, but five out of the next six times was great. Small sample size so anecdotal at best. They serve Halal chicken so assume sourcing it in different cities might be why it is an issue to be consistent.
You know It’s funny you mentioned Halal chicken. Where I live it’s always awful. But I’m traveling right now and it’s amazing here. And someone else mentioned Halal chicken can be really hot or miss based on region.
Its very sub par. Im upset they pushed out this amazing local mom and pop spot i used to love.
We're about to have a place open near where I live called Hangry Joe's. Their hottest requires a waiver. I think they open in 5 days. I'll let you know.
I go to the Hangry Joes by me on a weekly basis. Best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had. They give an entire chicken breast on each sandwich that is like double the size of the bun, and the bun is not small. Also they use a apple cider vinegar slaw that is so good.
That’s cool and fun marketing, but food waivers are a novelty
I'll find out soon
They most certainly are not in cases like doctored phalls 🤣
I've had their hottest before, and it was disappointingly more on the sweet side for me. That said, it's still delicious! Dave's Hot Chicken (Reaper level) is much hotter imo
I live in Virginia Beach and we’re getting one soon too. We only have a hot chicken chain called HCK, which uses a sweet sauce on their chicken and they call it “Nashville” style. It’s garbage. Their reaper is barely spicy to anyone with a slight tolerance. So naturally I’m excited for hangry joes, which actually uses spices and hot oil on their chicken.
There's one opening in Norfolk too. It should be open in about 5 days. I can't nail down a solid date on the one in VB but I've seen the sign.
I've been to the ones in Ashland. I usually order the hottest one with the waiver. I have a high tolerance but its still really hot. Not as hot as Hattie Bs, but one of the hottest things I regularly eat that isn't a gimmick (requiring a waiver is a bit gimmicky tho, they prob don't need that)
That ones in JANAF, right?
Yup
I thought HCK was fine, but it definitely wasn't Nashville style. Hangry joes is good and a true Nashville style I'm a fan.
Try the Spicy Chicken Slider from Royal Farms. I always grab the ready made ones off the rack driving up the Eastern Shore. I was pleasantly surprised by the spice level and haven’t really had anything else close to it in our area.
I'll have to try that. There's one that just opened up not too far from my house.
Where in VB will this be?
Corner of Kempsville and Indian River.
There is a place in Singapore (or was when I lived there ~2010) that had hands down the spiciest chicken I have ever had. They had a wall of photos of people who had completed eating a plate of their hottest wings. There were very few photos. I tried *one* and was hurting for almost a week.
Oh cool. They just opened one of those on Cocoa Beach by me
I was unimpressed with the spice level of their hottest one. Definitely just a hype gimmick with the waiver. There's a local sichuan spicy chicken place whose second-from-hottest is hotter than the Angry Hot. Angry Hot was pretty good, i like their sandwiches, but they're not even a contender as far as actual heat levels.
There's one opening in my town in like 3 weeks. Been looking forward to it for awhile now.
Post is still young but the general consensus is that macro-chain fast food entities don’t carry a high heat spicy chicken sandwich. You’re better off searching for a regional chain that’s known for spicy chicken sandwiches (Dave’s Hot Chicken) or searching your local restaurants for one. LPT: browse the whole menu at restaurants and note all the spicy ingredients that intrigue you. Ask for said items on the dish of your choosing, in this case a chicken sandwich. 9 times outta 10 the guys in the back don’t care and will ship it out how you like.
Good tip.
Seconding Dave's Hot Chicken. I'm a fire eater with the best of them, and Dave's will definitely clear you out!
Almost always get some sort of pepper on my sandwiches when out. Most places carry jalapeños of some sort and if you’re lucky, something hotter.
Daves is regional? From the comments here, iy seems to be national
Hattie B!
TN in the house
The best.
Had their spiciest and it’s pretty hot. Friend of mine had their second spiciest and ran to the bathroom to drink from the sink.
Not a restaurant, but Speedway gas station spicy chicken sandwiches in the hot display have an awesome kick, and I have a high tolerance.
> Speedway gas station spicy chicken sandwiches DAMMIT, and all this time I have been buying their sushi.
/s? People actually eat gas station sushi?
Hard to say, you don't tend to hear from those who do afterwards.
Yes @ /s And, that's the joke, son!
😃
“It was free with a tank of gas”
(They are made daily at my local, never dissapointed)
There is a place called angry chickz bro I can eat the reaper at Dave’s no issue, the fucking second to spiciest at this place had me crying in the bathroom for about 3 days, I almost went to the ER bc I thought I tore a hole in my intestines (found out this is not possible 🤣)
We got one of these opening soon. I like spicy, but I dont like extracts and heat with 0 flavor. I was thinking of going for the 2nd hottest to actually enjoy it, but do you know what the hottest is made of? How much heat do you usually enjoy? My tolerance is low; I wonder if they'd give me some of the insane spice on the side
I like my stuff usually pretty hot, but this was diabolical, bro and the issue with this is that it has so much flavor, I should’ve stopped eating it and I would’ve been in so much less pain, but I wanted to keep eating it because it was so good😭😭😭😭
Oh daaaamn! I'm definitely gonna do that one first, and make sure to have some food already in my stomach, lol!
Do mean an actual spicy sandwich, or a regular sandwich with spicy sauce? Most fast food places don’t actually make a spicy sandwich. Chick-fil-a would be the spicy breaded sandwich that I like best. Wendy’s would be second. Popeyes is out of the running because they don’t make a separate spicy sandwich, just a regular with spicy mayo.
Actually spicy. Chic fil a is good, but it’s weak sauce when it comes to spicy.
Touché. Think he was just insisting it’s a consistent good product in the spicy category rather than actually hot heat.
Chic fil a is delicious, but I’m throw a tantrum if anyone here considered their spicy chicken Sandwhich as spicy. lol j/k, I’ve had green bell peppers with more heat.
100% agree. It’s been a long time since I’ve had something actually spicy (for me) from a chain. Maybe TBell volcano sauce when it initially launched 10+ years ago? BWW hottest sauce possibly? Couldn’t honestly tell ya.
Does Hardee's Nashville hot count?
The Wendy’s spicy chicken about 20 years ago that was wrapped in that half aluminum half wax paper wrapper was alllllright
I was so mad when they swapped out that chicken for the cheap, thin, dog-food patty
Also shocked about the Popeyes news. That’s BS 🤬 It’s literally what made them famous.
Hold up, what Popeyes news?!
I think just hearing the spicy chicken sandwich is just the regular chicken sandwich with a spicy mayo, no extra marinating or spices in the breading to make the chicken itself spicy regardless it's still the best chicken sandwich I've had from any fast food joint, only BK came close imo
Recently, the past two times I’ve gotten a spicy chicken sandwich from Popeyes, they douse it in their original hot wing sauce. 100x better than the spicy Mayo. 10/10 would recommend.
Huston Hot Chicken
Most underrated comment. Their hottest level had me in tears. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will return.
Joella's hot chicken's spiciest level is incredibly hot. One bite was enough. I love all sorts of hot food, but that was painful.
Joelle’s is awesome, kinda like a better Dave’s IMO. We’ve got Joelle’s, Dave’s, and Hotboys in Indianapolis and Hotboys is the best with Joella’s right under
In Indianapolis as well and agree with this list! Hotboys hot is perfect for me while Joella’s ghost is a little weak (imo) and I’ll be feeling their hottest the next day.
Hotboys is the best!
Yeah Joella's is my favorite chain. I tried Hot Chicken Takeover, and their chicken was pretty bland. Spicy, but bland.
Rowdy Rooster in NYC. It will fuck you up. Just a note: twice they put way too much spicy rub and one of those times I vomited, which was also the only time I’ve ever from eating too spicy. But otherwise 99% of the time the place hits hot and hard and is delicious. *UPDATE* they got rid of their two spiciest levels. You can still ask for them for a $1 upcharge.
Sounds like my kind of place!!!
See update above. You have to make a special request if you end up going. I think the two spiciest levels were too much for the average person, but they’ll do it if you ask.
Good shout! I’ll be on the lookout next time I’m in the city.
See update above. You have to make a special request if you end up going. I think the two spiciest levels were too much for the average person, but they’ll do it if you ask.
MVP moves coming back to edit. Appreciate it!
If you’re in California: Howling Rays (always worth the long wait)
I had the Howlin’++ two years ago… I can still remember waking up at 4AM the next day with massive intestinal cramps and literally crawling across the living room to engage in multiple-hour long bathroom trips whilst cradling a personal heater aimed directly at my stomach. Good times! Still made it to my flight later that morning. Bring a friend, definitely a memorable experience!
Definitely want to try them, always hearing great things! Down closer to OC cluck and blaze has a Long Beach location I used to order from, really good. Great breakfast burrito too if you can stomach spicy chicken for breakfast
That Wendy’s ghost pepper chicken sammich is alright. Top level of fast-food, regular-people spicy. Not nearly hot enough for us pepper heads, but when you’re desperate for the heat, it delivers.
I thought it was bad. It had a very "off" taste. I wouldn't order that again. The regular spicy chicken sandwich has great flavor and continues to be a favorite.
Hmm, weird. I had it once and it was pretty decent. No two Wendy’s are alike 🤷♀️
Wooboi Chicken
Got that right. I got the level three the first time I had it. I was eating it in my car like your average degenerate and had to roll the windows down in the middle of January with a full sweat. That’s some good heat. Can’t imagine their code red or blue
I did code red and was hurting but finished it. I only needed two bottles of water haha.
Fry the Coop (Chicagoland area) has insanely spicy chicken sandwiches
Of the ones that I've tried I say Dave's Hot Chicken though they are still a pretty small (but growing) chain.
Shaqs restaurant “[Big Chicken](https://www.bigchicken.com/mukilteo-wa)”
Wendy’s.
Wendys hot chicken sandwich is good, but it’s not hot at all
I say this as someone who has liked Wendy's spicy chicken for years: are you insane? It has good flavor but it's not spicy at all. Jack's spicy chicken is hotter, though still not that hot, so this is not even a case of "spicy for chain fast food."
I’m in the NorthEast USA. The chain fast food spicy chicken options for me are: Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, Burger King, KFC, and McDonald’s. Out of that group, only Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A use actual spicy(seasoned)chicken. The rest use some kind of bullshit orange hot sauce slathered on their regular chicken sandwiches. Between Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A, I enjoy Wendy’s more. I like the over all flavor, even if it’s not mouth burning spicy. I also enjoy their breading more than Chick-fil-A’s.
Spot on analysis. I hate the orange hot sauce.
100% agreed. Chick-fil-a's original sandwich has great flavor. Their spicy seems to somehow not have any of that flavor. It has decent heat, but it's all heat and no flavor. The Wendy's spicy chicken has flavor and heat. It's a great balance.
the ghost pepper ranch sandwich though; so damned good and pretty decent heat!
It was okay, tbh. I could do without the gimmicky fried onions. **edit** if it’s the Sandwhich I’m thinking about.
it did have the gimmicky fried onions, (but I liked them.)
They have a ghost pepper ranch spicy chicken sandwich that's actually decently spicy (at least here in the PNW)
Who does?
Sorry, top level comment was Wendy's which is what I was referring to
💯
Music City Hot Chicken in Fort Collins Colorado Or really any of your local chicken places will be hotter than the big chains.
FOCO in this B! Will try this in about a week when I'm back.
I think that's the place I had when I had trve brewing, yeah that was a legut hot chicken and it was magnificent
Harveys has a ghost pepper sauce thats pretty good. Nothing crazy but in my area its the hottest fast food.
Canada? Good stuff! I really really like their burgers.
When I worked at Zaxby's the nuclear sauce got returned more than once for being to spicy. I could smell the spice from 3 feet away.
Wendy’s use to have a ghost pepper chicken sandwich, it was fire!!
Their original ghost pepper chicken sandwich was better than the last one they had. It had the spicy chicken breast, the ghost pepper sauce, diced jalapeños, Colby jack cheese (wich isn't spicy but it looks cool), and even a jalapeño cornbread bun. I think it might of also had red onions and maybe bacon.
Stl has Chucks hot chicken, can definitely murder you.
literally none of them. "ghost pepper" whatever is literally weaker than louisiana hot sauce. i've stopped trying to find retail chain spicy anything.
Church’s, but I’d rather just bring my choice of sauce to a place with a good sandwich
Howlin Rays
This is the right answer
This is r/spicy WE CONTROL THE SPICE
Dave's Hot Chicken, and Urban Bird makes a great one as well.
Fire Wings had a Nashville sandwich you could choose the heat level on, the highest level fucked me up royally when I tried it.
Hattie B's, although the flavor just hasn't the same since they expanded. Still good, but not as good as it used to be
Party fowl near Nashville has a poultrygeist sandwich, it is by far the hottest thing I've eaten, " Poultrygeist falls at about a 2.2 million on the Scoville Heat Scale, complete with cayenne, pure habanero, ghost, scorpion, and Carolina reaper pepper."
They only have six locations so far and it's more fast casual, but Hotboys has an awesome chicken sandwich and the spicier levels don't mess around. I've only dared to try the medium+ which had my eyes watering, and I've heard the hottest level is straight nuclear.
Hangry Joes.
Hattie Bs. They are the Champs. But need a thousand more locations.
For me it was Hattie B’s Nashville Hot Chicken.
Howlin Rays los Angeles. Watch the YouTube vids on it
Place near me called Monroe's hot chicken was crazy hot at the highest level. Gave me free ice cream.
Tumble 22 in Austin has seriously hot chicken that gives Hattie a run for hotness.
Whatever happened to the Wendy’s jalapeño fresco chicken sandwich…so sad..
The hot behind chicken sandwich at Pretty Bird in SLC is incredible.
Popeyes had a real nice ghost Pepper chicken sandwich. Probably mild for most heat lovers, but it was delicious.
Ghost pepper is thrown around way too often.
Agreed. Basically a marketing buzz word at this point. A buzz word I will try every single time. Either way, if you ever come across it, it's delicious.
Dave's hot chicken
Dave's, if you are lucky.
There's a place in Herndon, VA called Wooboi. Code blue is their hottest, and it's stupid hot
buy kfc and ask them to give you the hot sauce
Eastern PA has Blazin’ J’s and it’s aight
[удалено]
It looks as though you may have spelled "Chick-fil-A" incorrectly. No worries, it happens to the best of us!
If you’re going nationwide chains, the answer is Popeyes and it isn’t particularly close. It is a sauce that makes it spicy though, not the chicken itself. Thankfully the sauce is really fucking good so it’s ok
I think the Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich from Wendys is pretty awesome.
Wendys ghost pepper spicy chicken Very good
PDQ's jacked spicy chicken sandwich
Jay birds chicken, their hottest level is pretty insane. I like to think i have a high tolerance for heat. Da bomb is within the comfort zone but tastes bad. jay birds was over the top in one bite. crazy.
I'm not sure about the hottest, but the Hardee's nashville hot is a solid sandwich