Raising Caine's Chicken Fingers - Mobile, Alabama

I've been wanting to do a review of my favorite chicken fingers in the world for awhile now. And the reason it's been awhile is there is not one in Arkansas. The closest is in Norman, Oklahoma but why would I go where the hated Sooners live?

I discovered this place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana back in 2001. This is where it was created and had a few locations around town. I was down there for the Hogs/LSU game and there was one right off the LSU campus. "The Original" We needed some tailgate food so we asked around and this is what everybody kept pointing us to. One bite and I was hooked........

Back to 2011. Raising Caine's has blown up into a southeast chain. Robyn and I were heading to Seaside, Florida for vacation in August. We hit it up in Mobile, AL on the way down and hit it again in Hattiesburg, MS on the way back. Yeah that's right twice. That good.

 I ordered "The Caniac" combo. 6 fingers, extra fries, and a giant piece of texas toast. These fingers are the most succulent, delicious, mouth-watering strips you will ever put in your mouth. Lightly battered and seasoned, fall off the strip breading, and juicy as hell. Damn I need some right now.

Got my brother and his wife hooked last summer. So much they brought a extra cooler just to stock up on some of  Cane's famous sauce.

10 out of 10 clucks

The Fries

Regular old crinkle cut fries. :(
But they are the best crinkle cut fries I've had. Better than Ore-ida. :)

6 out of 10 fries

Check this place out sometime. I've eaten at their locations in Athens, GA, Lexington, KY, Mobile, AL, and Hattiesburg, MS. Norman is the closest 3.5 hours away if you want to venture into sooner land.
They are located in about every SEC school hometown. Except Arkansas. Oh well. Maybe someday. I can dream....... I may have to venture in sooner land. Damn.

Cafe Rue Orleans - Fayetteville, AR

Hello strangers! It's been two months. I've got to get better at this don't I?? I just didn't realize being a dad could be some much fun and take up my time. :) Loving every second of it.
Cafe Rue Orleans on College Avenue in Fayetteville. Great cajun food by two wonderful ladies. But they also have chicken strips so I had to give them a try. And it was worth it.

The Bourbon Strippers

Don't you love the name? Maybe something to do with Bourbon Street entertainment?? Not that I noticed that at the Sugar Bowl last year.

Look at this huge plate of food you get. 6 large tenders and a plate of fries for $16.99. Lunch price is $9.50. But man you get your money's worth at dinner. I could not finish the plate. Those fries stretched from what you see all the way underneath the strips. You won't leave hungry.

These were cooked to perfection. Very juicy inside and well seasoned on the outside with a light batter that my taste buds loved. A little cajun kick. What else would you expect?

9 out of 10 clucks

The Fries

Fries were freaking awesome as well. Same as above with some cajun seasoning some chopped fresh parsley sprinkled on top of them. Yummy!!

8 out of 10 fries

What did Grayson think??

www.caferueorleans.com

Doe's Eat Place - Fayetteville, Arkansas

I'm back!!!!!!! After a 3 month hiatus. I know I know. Something about having a 5 month old leaves no time. :) Loving every minute of it!!
Alright let's get too it. Doe's Eat Place, on Dickson Street, on the hill. Yes known for their great expensive steaks. But....wait for it....they have hand battered chicken strips. Say what? Yes they do. And very good strips indeed. Order the adult portion and you get six VERY LARGE chicken strips and a ton of fries.

These are the largest strips I've ever been served and fantastic. Lightly breaded with a small amount of seasoning. Juicy and delicious. I almost couldn't finish them. The key word there being almost. :)

10 out of 10 clucks. I'm not kidding. That good.

The Fries

Fresh cut. My favorite. Very seasoned and yummy. Cooked evenly and just right.

9 out of 10 fries

Bonus Review:


The Biscuit Drops

Delicious breaded little drops of heaven biscuits. Mmmm...Mmmm...good. Add a little honey to them and they melt in your mouth.

10 out of 10 on the biscuit meter

Grub's Uptown Bar and Grille - Fayetteville, AR

There are not alot of locally owned restaurants that can branch out and open a 2nd location. In fact, you can count most of them on one hand in NW Arkansas. JJ's Grill and Chill being one of the most recent restaurants to venture out and do so and do it successfully. Some people were skeptical of the local Grub's restaurant announcing they were going to open a 2nd location in the old O'Charley's and the soon after defunct Meaux Dad's. Both failed in the spot in front of Target fairly quickly. But I said if anyone could do it Grub's could because they had built a great brand and reputation in their first location off Dickson Street. They have had the perfect mix of good food and great drink specials since day one. And after their first month in their 2nd location they have lifted the curse off that location. Everytime I have been or gone by there it's packed. The atmosphere is great, tons of 42" plasmas, and as I stated before good food.

Robyn and I ventured out a couple of Saturdays ago with our baby boy Grayson in tow. Here's what he thought of the atmosphere......

Slept the whole time. :)

 Strip Basket

Four large hand breaded strips. Lightly seasoned and very tender and juicy. Hands down the best chicken strips in Northwest Arkansas.

Basket is shockingly priced at only $6.50!! You can't beat that anywhere.

9.5 clucks out of 10


Fries

Nothing to write home about or really blog about. Need some type of seasoning badly.

Eh

6 out of 10 fries

One of the managers told me they will be adding a patio soon. They are just trying to decide what side to put it on and get city approval.

www.grubsbargrille.com

Northern Exposure Bar and Grill - Fayetteville, AR

New sports bar and grill in the old Smokey Bones BBQ joint. Nice bar and 60 inch plasmas throughout the restaurant. They have $1 Bud Light drafts ALL DAY long. Which meant alot more to me a month ago before my little boy was born. :)
Also a little side note. The waitress's here are dressed like....well they aren't really dressed at all. This place make Hooters look like Chucky Cheese.
On to the reason why we are here.... the Chicken Tenders

3 very large hand battered chicken tenders and a TON of fries. All for $8.99.

Very seasoned tenders. Juicy. And I can't get over how big they are. Buddy of mine got the Steak Burger and it was huge. It seemed from other plates around us that all entrees are served with very large portions.

7 out of 10 clucks

The Fries

Seasoned fries. Light batter. Very very tasty. Not like any other fries I've had in Northwest Arkansas Different and I liked that.

8 out of 10 fries

The Rudi Tender Shack - Springdale, AR

Special treat for you this week. One my favorite things and my wife's favorite things to do is make homemade tenders and fries. Yes I know. Shocker isn't it? Our fryer recently went out on us and we ordered a new one. We were extra excited about this new fryer because it has a oil drainage system in the bottom. You can drain your oil after each use and wash the container and basket and then fill it back up. Very cool. Check out this bad boy.......

Nice isn't it?


The Rudi Tenders:

We always do different combinations on the seasoning on these. This time we did paprika and greek seasoning mixed up with the flour.
And the end product looked like............

THIS!

They turned out perfect. Light breading and yes it's the kind that falls off the chicken tender when you take a bite.

Very juicy. We were thrilled with the end product. I love new fryers!

8 out of 10 clucks (I've still got some tweaking to do)

Rudi Fries:

Hand cut idaho potatoes. I blanched them for the very first time. That's where you drop them for 2 minutes and then pull them out for a minute and then drop them again to finish them. And they turned out like this......

 Cooked evenly throughout fry and nice and crispy. I added some Old Bay seasoning during the blanching process and then put it on after they were finished cooking as well. Tasted so so good. Robyn said both tasted fantastic and were the best I've done yet. :)


8 out 10 fries (Same as above, more to tweak and learn)

If you would like to try them please call for reservations.

Sugar Bowl Fan Fest - Chicken On A Stick Booth- New Orleans, LA

One more stop in Louisiana country. At the Sugar Bowl Fan Fest in Champions Square outside the Superdome they had a concert, bars, and all kinds of food booths a few hours before the game. We made our way down there from Bourbon Street about 4:00 a few hours before kickoff. Very well put on event. The best pre-game bowl atmosphere and bowl game festivities I've even been to and I've been to all of them. Except the Las Vegas Bowl. Glad I missed that horrible game.

So anyway I was a beverage run for the guys and I come across a stand with a sign that says "Chicken On A Stick." For reals. I LOVE chicken on a stick. It goes all the way back to my Pine Bluff days. There was a Shell gas station that had chicken on a stick. Large boneless breast fillets on a stick. Mmmmm good. Here she is.............

Not even close to being as large as the Bluffs stick. Served luke warm with pretty heavy batter on both sides. Okay taste just not enough of it. Needed seasoning. You think I would have some left from the 4 alarm fire I had in mouth from the day before. Nope.

5 out of 10 clucks

Vieux Carre Chicken Wings & Tenders - New Orleans, LA

My friend Dave and I flew down to New Orleans last week to watch the Hogs give the game away to the Buckyes last week. As we were walking down St. Louis street one of the many side streets that connect with Bourbon Street my friend Dave said "Hey you have to do a review while you are here." Actually he said it with a little slur. :)
He then points out this little place called Vieux Carre Wingery. It's a very small little walk in restaurant with a very small area to eat. So I decided to get some to go as an appetizer for our upcoming dinner.

You get a 5 piece for $5.75. Not bad. They were large hand battered tenders. You can actually watch the guy dip them in the flour and seasoning as you order them. He put a ton of seasoning on them. I asked them what it consisted of and he just said "secret cajun recipe." Ohhhhhhh okay.
Well let me tell you it was one hot and very spicy receipe. My mouth and lips were on fire as we walked to our next stop. They were tasty though. Just hot. Damn hot.

8 out of 10 clucks

No fry on the side on this little adventure.

I hope we are back next year in the Sugar Bowl. If we are it means we will be playing in the national championship. Go Hogs!