{"id":3198,"date":"2026-07-12T15:05:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T15:05:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198"},"modified":"2026-07-12T15:05:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T15:05:27","slug":"i-dont-like-thick-chicken-a-new-yorkers-review-of-charlotte-chicken-tenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>New Yorkers aren\u2019t exactly known for keeping their food opinions to themselves. Ask one where to get the best pizza, bagel or bacon, egg and cheese, and you\u2019re likely to get a passionate answer.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3197\">911 call at 7 a.m. Sunday leads to body in southeast Charlotte, CMPD says<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I figured the same would apply to chicken tenders.<\/p>\n<p>One of my editors, Heidi, saw a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DaLR1FFhAIB\/\" rel=\"Follow\" target=\"_blank\">video<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.charlotteobserver.com\/charlottefive\/c5-food-drink\/article311959560.html\" rel=\"Follow\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cTop Chef\u201d judges<\/a> in Charlotte doing a blind taste test of chicken tenders from local fast food restaurants. It was her idea to replicate that, but since I\u2019m too familiar with the city\u2019s fried poultry, I enlisted the help of one of my colleagues.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.charlotteobserver.com\/profile\/289737384\/\" rel=\"Follow\" target=\"_blank\">Desiree Mathurin<\/a> (Dez for short) is The Charlotte Observer\u2019s growth and development reporter and a New Yorker who loves chicken tenders. We picked up tenders from Zaxbys, Publix, Bojangles and Cook Out, removed any identifying packaging and served them to her one at a time without revealing where they came from.<\/p>\n<p>Before we started, though, she wanted to establish her credentials.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I could have a death row meal, what would it be?\u201d she asked her mom on the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike, I\u2019m about to die, and I need a meal, what would you give me?\u201d she clarified.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChicken nuggets and french fries,\u201d her mom responded.<\/p>\n<p>She was the perfect candidate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are a little cold,\u201d Dez told me as she grabbed the first tender.<\/p>\n<p>She wasn\u2019t wrong \u2014 the chicken had been sitting out for roughly 20 minutes before we started.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is good,\u201d she said after the first bite. \u201cThat might be Publix. That\u2019s a fresh chicken tendy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not too breaded,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt\u2019s a little dry. It could use some sauce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I wouldn\u2019t know since I\u2019ve never had tenders from Zaxbys without their signature Zax Sauce. I\u2019m still not sure what\u2019s in it, though, and I don\u2019t want to know.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have a chicken taste to it,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that makes sense to people, but you know how chicken can taste like chicken?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fact that the tenders didn\u2019t taste like chicken was concerning, but it also made me think those probably wouldn\u2019t end up being her favorite.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat has to be Cook Out because it\u2019s frozen,\u201d Dez said after the first bite.<\/p>\n<p>I was offended, but Cook Out chicken tenders have been my go-to order there since I can remember, so I asked her to explain further.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3195\">Lindsey Graham, 71, South Carolina senator, dies after short illness<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe breading is really thick, and there\u2019s not that much chicken,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the bread-to-chicken ratio is off?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say off, because I do like a breaded chicken tendy,\u201d she said. \u201cI do like that it\u2019s still crunchy, even though it is a little lukewarm. But it just gives frozen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you think it\u2019d be better with some sauce?\u201d I questioned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cActually, I could eat that with no sauce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, look at this little flavoring right here,\u201d Dez said, pointing to the Cajun seasoning on the tender. \u201cIs it spicy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She guessed incorrectly that the chicken was from Publix, so I asked her to explain why.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s really good,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has more of a real chicken taste \u2014 I like the pepper, and it has a really good flavor. Nice spicy little kick. Super crispy, and it wasn\u2019t dry like the first one, or artificial-tasting like the second one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then she mentioned her disdain for \u201cthick chicken,\u201d which was confusing to me. Wouldn\u2019t thin chicken have less meat?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m taking the skinnier pieces because I don\u2019t like thick chicken,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to like these, because I don\u2019t really like thick chicken in tender format,\u201d Dez said about the Publix tenders. \u201cSometimes I have weird meat aversions. If the chicken is too thick, I\u2019m gonna be like, \u2018It\u2019s not cooked,\u2019 even though I\u2019m sure it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you like thin chicken?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do like thin chicken tenders, so I try to take the thinnest of them all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before trying a piece, she pointed out how the breading was falling off, showing the intense whiteness of the chicken.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat tastes like an actual piece of chicken,\u201d she said. \u201cIt tastes like rotisserie chicken.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s lacking a little flavor,\u201d she continued. \u201cI wish we had an air fryer in here so we could heat it up again to make it a bit more crispy. But I would say out of all of these, that was the realest piece of chicken I\u2019ve had.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, Dez chose Bojangles as her favorite, saying the flavor is what stood out the most.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve had Bojangles before, and I didn\u2019t like it \u2014 I tossed it as soon as I got it,\u201d she explained. \u201cBut that was really flavorful. It was really good. Good flavor, nice spice, very good peppery taste and it was really crunchy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3193\">Bandits put log in road, ambush driver when he gets out to move it, NC sheriff says<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, I might be a Bojangles fan.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A New Yorker blind-tastes tenders from Zaxby\u2019s, Publix, Bojangles and Cook Out to find the most flavorful, crispy and authentic fast food chicken tender.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A New Yorker blind-tastes tenders from Zaxby\u2019s, Publix, Bojangles and Cook Out to find the most flavorful, crispy and authentic fast food chicken tender.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-12T15:05:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-12T15:05:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198\"},\"wordCount\":897,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/461f9e8a554180cf06a2ea7e399b60fd.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198\",\"name\":\"\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/461f9e8a554180cf06a2ea7e399b60fd.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-12T15:05:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/461f9e8a554180cf06a2ea7e399b60fd.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/461f9e8a554180cf06a2ea7e399b60fd.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3198#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","og_description":"A New Yorker blind-tastes tenders from Zaxby\u2019s, Publix, Bojangles and Cook Out to find the most flavorful, crispy and authentic fast food chicken tender.","og_url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198","og_site_name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","article_published_time":"2026-07-12T15:05:27+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"headline":"\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders","datePublished":"2026-07-12T15:05:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198"},"wordCount":897,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/461f9e8a554180cf06a2ea7e399b60fd.jpeg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198","name":"\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/461f9e8a554180cf06a2ea7e399b60fd.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-07-12T15:05:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/461f9e8a554180cf06a2ea7e399b60fd.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/461f9e8a554180cf06a2ea7e399b60fd.jpeg","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3198#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/","name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}