These days you aren’t anybody in fast food land if you don’t have a crispy chicken option. Amongst many other things, 2020 has been the year of the crispy chicken. As we close out the year The Habit Burger is joining the fray with two new items: a Crispy Chicken Sandwich and a 6/10 piece Crispy Chicken Bites. Ever the moth to the flame, I ordered both this week. Here’s the full scoop of The Habit’s new Crispy Chicken.
First out of the gate, one thing I have to credit The Habit Burger with – their food in real life, always looks real close to their promo pictures. You cant say this of many fast food operations; how many times have you unwrapped your food only to stare on in disbelief. That’s not the case at Habit. The dishes are put together with skill and care; it’s immediately noticeable over the other fast food riff riff that looks like it was thrown together during a tornado.
Here’s the Crispy Chicken Sandwich first of all – sure looks good huh:
You can see the promo pictures here – see what I mean. Damn close. Anyway, onto the tasting. The batter here is very thick and very crispy. If reviewed solely on how this lives up to the promise, it’s hard to fault. This sandwich crunches and cracks in all the best ways.
That breading is really thick stuff though and the chicken inside is on the thinner side. As a result it’s overpowered to a degree by the exterior. What chicken there is though is of definable chicken-ness; this isn’t processed and reformed, this is the real deal.
The green leaf lettuce on my sandwich was a far cry from some of the dregs of the salad bar I’ve seen on other fast food chain sandwiches, likewise the tomato, all really good vibrant look veggies here. Sadly, I thought the mayo was lacking. With that heavy batter the sandwich really needs something to help, as it is, this is a DRY sandwich.
Maybe that’s no bad thing mind you. One constant I love about The Habit Burger is the clean flavors. You never finish a meal here feeling bloated, greasy or ready for a four hour nap. Thats the case with this fried sandwich, I felt happy and bright once I’d finished up.
But wait, we’re not done just yet! Habit have also released a brand new Chicken Bite alongside the sandwich. Here’s a few pictures alongside the BBQ sauce that comes with the Bites:
These Bites stole the show for me. The thicker pieces of chicken, at least compared to the sandwich, really shone. Again, as you can see in the pictures, this is real chicken, with real chicken taste. This is probably the classiest ‘nugget’ I’ve tasted in a long time. Superb crunch, juicy and flavorful interior; that BBQ sauce is no slouch either, not crazy sweet and just the right amount of smoky heat in the background.
So is The Habit Burger Crispy Chicken any good? For sure, this is right up there with the best I’d say, though the sandwich dryness overall keeps it from true greatness. Those Chicken Bites though – these are hands down fantastic. Go get some today.
The new Crispy Chicken items are prices as follows (from my Salt Lake City branch):
- Crispy Chicken Sandwich, $7.20
- 6 pc. Crispy Chicken Bites, $4.99
- 10 pcs Crispy Chicken Bites, $6.49
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic Salt Lake City, and a former freelance restaurant critic. I’ve worked extensively with local, regional and national food and drink organizations. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have been writing about food and drink for more than fifteen years. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. I don’t mind admitting to a certain secret obsession with fast food as well – and that’s where Menu And Price comes in…