For The Best Bone-In Fried Chicken, Go To This Underrated Chain

Scratch-made isn't a phrase that often comes to mind when you consider fast food, but there are some chains out there, like Culver's with its mashed potatoes, that are turning the tide. Take California-based Starbird Chicken, an underrated spot serving never-frozen, made-to-order bone-in fried chicken in the form of crispy wings. Food Republic ranked Starbird as having the highest-quality bone-in chicken among fast food restaurants, and according to reviews, customers are well in agreement.

What makes Starbird's wings so superior, according to our reviewer, are the ingredients and cooking methods, which include using fresh chicken every time and hand-breading it with a proprietary breading and spice blend. Then, the wings get fried in rice bran oil, which has a high smoke point and a relatively neutral flavor that allows the seasonings to shine. It's no wonder one Google reviewer called these wings "one of the best" in the Bay Area, while numerous others praised their crisp texture. It might also help that at Starbird, if you have a preference for the wing type, you can choose all drums or all flats for a small upcharge.

As of October 2026, Starbird operates fewer than two dozen restaurants, the vast majority of which are in California (mostly centered around the Bay Area). Yet what might seem like a disadvantage to a burgeoning fast food chain could actually be one of the reasons why its wings are so great — as our reviewer points out, it's easier to maintain quality control over a smaller operation. When Starbird expands, as it is poised to do, with new locations in Washington and Illinois in development, it will be interesting to see how the chicken chain manages its broader footprint and whether it can maintain the quality of its wings and the rest of its menu.

Another factor that gives Starbird's wings a leg up on the competition is the sauces, which are — like everything else on the menu — made in-house. However, the chain keeps its cards close to the vest, and it doesn't list the ingredients in its sauces on its website (which fast food chains aren't legally required to do for made-to-order items). That doesn't seem to bother its happy customers, though, who have high praise for its condiments, especially the chain's Star Sauce, its own take on Alabama white barbecue sauce, with sweet and smoky notes.