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I have a confession; I’ve eaten two spicy chicken sandwiches from Popeyes in the past week. The internet has been abuzz with quality memes, and my food god Kenji even praised it. I couldn’t resist.
But, I must move on. Local restaurants also know how to make stellar fried chicken sandwiches, so I need to share the love with them as well.
Here are the picks.
While chicken isn’t in the name at Divine Bovine, they still know their chicken. The Flying Buffalo features Swiss cheese, buffalo sauce, ranch, hot pickles, lettuce, tomato, and onion. You can order any of their sandwiches with the buttermilk-fried chicken breast, FYI.
For more information, visit divinebovineburgers.com.
Rather than one giant chunk of chicken, The Drunken Chicken uses two of their hefty chicken strips on their sandwiches. While they offer a few varieties, our favorite is the Chicken Strip Sandwich with coleslaw and ancho ranch on a brioche bun.
For more information, visit thedrunkenchickenaz.com.
The Vegan Fried Chicken Sandwich (from the secret menu) features vegan fried chicken tossed in a spicy and tangy buffalo sauce, topped with house-made vegan blue cheese, tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato, and pickles on a locally baked bun.
For more information, visit lovinspoonfuls.com.
From our Instagram queen Melissa Stihl:
“A new food truck, Pop’s Hot Chicken, is serving up some seriously delicious Nashville hot chicken sandwiches on Fourth Avenue. I am a big fan of chicken sandwiches, and in my opinion, it really comes down to the chicken. The chicken from Pops’ food truck is a fried chicken thigh — essential to the makings of a delicious chicken sandwich. It’s lightly breaded, fried, and super crispy. Everything else on the sandwich just adds to the equation here — the avocado slaw, the brioche bun, pickles, and the hot sauce — it all just works. Pops Hot Chicken’s menu is simple with only a few items, but they are doing them right. This is the ideal post-drinking meal.”
Keep up with Pops Hot Chicken on Instagram.
Prep & Pastry’s Fried Chicken Sandwich features tangy slaw and bread & butter pickles. But one ingredient is the X factor: Noel’s honey dijon. Noel’s honey is some of the best in Tucson and was featured in the New York Times, no big deal.
For more information, visit prepandpastry.com.
The Picoso Torta features fried chicken tossed with Sonoran chili rub, topped with habanero coleslaw, roasted chile verde, caramelized onion, and Rollies Queso Sauce. It packs the heat, so you might want an ice cold bottle of Mexican soda at your side.
Keep up with Rollies Mexican Patio on Facebook.Â
Time Market’s Fried Chicken Sandwich features thick and juicy buttermilk fried chicken, tomato, slaw, and house pickles on a sesame seed brioche roll. Order it Tucson Hot for another quarter.
For more information, visit timemarket.xyz.
Available on the brunch and lunch menu, Tito & Pep’s Crispy Chicken Torta features pickled fried chicken, onions, tomato, and smoky morita-lime mayo.
For more information, visit titoandpep.com.
Union’s Fried Chicken Sandwich features a hefty buttermilk fried chicken breast (look at that chicken-to-bun ratio), honey mustard, lettuce, bacon, mayo, and cheddar.
For more information, visit uniontucson.com.
Welcome Diner features three chicken and biscuit sandwiches on the menu, but our favorite keeps it simple. The Bumblebee features a fried chicken breast with local honey, house mustard, bread and butter pickles, and house baked biscuits.
For more information, visit welcomediner.net.
Jackie Tran is a Tucson-based food writer, photographer, culinary educator, and owner-chef of the food truck Tran’s Fats. Although he is best known locally for his work for Tucson Foodie, his work has also appeared in publications such as Bon...
