Our Favorite Fast Food Chicken Chain Is Owned By A Food Network Star

Fried chicken is one of those comfort foods that just makes you feel happy, satisfied, and delightfully full. While there are many tactics and expert tips for making crispy fried chicken in your home kitchen, restaurant fried chicken just always seems to taste better. With this in mind, Food Republic has taken the guesswork out of choosing a chicken spot to satisfy your cravings. We've ranked 12 fried chicken chains from worst to best, and our favorite place happens to be owned by Food Network Star and mayor of Flavortown, Guy Fieri.

Fieri's Chicken Guy! restaurant has just 14 locations, spanning from LAX airport in Los Angeles to famed seaside resort hotspot Atlantic City, New Jersey. It might just be worth a bit of travel to hit up one of the sites, according to our taste tester's experience. In the quest to suss out the very best takeout chicken, our tester munched on some tenders from a Chicken Guy! location at Disney Springs, a Walt Disney shopping, dining, and entertainment complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

From the mouth of the Flavortown mayor himself, some of the elements that make the chain's foundational food so special is the use of antibiotic-free chicken that is pressure fried. It is also brined in a mixture of fresh lemon juice, buttermilk, and pickle brine before getting a fresh herb infusion. Food Republic's taster found the chicken's breading to be perfectly balanced — not too thick and not too crunchy. The tenders, overall, were excellently flavored, with a harmonious blend of spice and crumb. All in all, it was a very special bite of chicken, propelling Guy's fried poultry to the No. 1 slot.

The chicken tenders at Chicken Guy! form the basis for many of the dishes on the chain's menu, offered freestyle with dipping sauce, stacked on the sandwiches, and served cut up on salads. While the menu varies based on the specific Chicken Guy! location, the standalone chicken tenders are available across all 14 restaurants. We sampled the breaded tenders, but the meat also comes grilled, as well as in a spicy version called Hot Tenders.

As a companion to the chicken, an impressive lineup of sauces is offered at Chicken Guy! If the tenders weren't already delectable on their own — which they are — the sauces would certainly put them over the top. Up to 13 are on offer, depending on location, ranging from more standard options like Buttermilk Ranch, Honey Mustard, and Sweet 'N' Sour to some outside-the-box choices with Guy Fieri's stamp all over them. These include Fieri's signature Donkey Sauce, an Avocado Crema, Truffle Parm, and something called SMC (which, according the chain's official Facebook page, stands for Super Melty Cheese).

In addition to the tenders, sandwiches, salads, and sauces, some of the franchises' menus further offer things like Fried Chicken Dumplings, Chopped Cheese & Chicken Eggrolls, and Fried Pickle Chips. Rounding out the Chicken Guy! offerings is a tempting array of Flavortown Shakes, ranging from the standard chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla to more adventurous options like Apple Cinnamon Cereal and Triple Double Mint. When the craving for fried chicken strikes, we heartily recommend checking out Chicken Guy! You'll not only get some special chicken that is a credit to the Food Network star who created it, but you'll find an array of other unique menu items that definitely prove they belong in Flavortown.